Page 68 - World Airnews Magazine June 2020 Edition

ELECTRIC
AVIATION

ELECTRIC

AVIATION

HAS ARRIVED

AND WILL

BE HERE TO

STAY

Within the aviation industry, airlines and producers of electric aircraft routes will be electric flights. She said:
employees’ eyes glitter when electric to identify what needs to be put in place in “Several new tours that we do not have
aviation is mentioned. It’s a topic that order for us to have an infrastructure for today will have been added. I think we
is hot and heavily debated - and, what electric aircraft in the Nordic region.” will get regional direct flights that do not
only a few years ago felt unlikely, is now The project is funded by Nordic detour via Arlanda and Bromma (the main
becoming reality. Innovation, a sub-section of the Nordic airports nearby Stockholm), as most flights
In December 2019, the first commercial Council of Ministers, which has identified do today, to be able to get their finances
trip using electric aircraft flew in Vancouver sustainable transport as a strategic area. together.”
and the Nordic countries. Since then, Fiskerud said, “The Nordic countries have Fiskerud said, “In 2040, I hope our
the strong effort to create a standard for the prerequisites to be a pioneer - we domestic aircraft will run on electricity,
electrifying aviation has continued, but created a standard for the GSM network, both within Sweden and between our
how will this develop in the coming years? which we then exported to other countries. Nordic countries. Not least because the
Maria Fiskerud, who leads the Nordic We want to create the same infrastructure big airlines, such as Airbus and Boeing,
Network for Electric Aviation (NEA) and the for electric aviation. Our conditions in the and aircraft engine manufacturers, like
Rolls-Royce, are now starting to talk about
Fossil Free Aviation 2045 cluster, is working north are special - with ice, rain, snow having larger hybrid planes by 2030. I think
on the transition to fossil-fuel-free aviation, and cold temperatures - it places higher the earliest routes in Sweden will start
together with the industry. She said: “It’s demands on the planes and infrastructure.” between 2020 and 2030.”
important that we do this together – Fiskerud believes that, during 2030,
no-one can solve the challenges of aviation one third of the routes we currently have However, there are many different
ourselves, we have to work together. In domestic flights on will become electrified factors that can affect how things go:
the Nordic region, we gather both airports, in Sweden, but maybe half of all domestic • The speed of battery development

World Airnews | June Extra 2020
— 20—