Airport operator Swedavia is to make Malmö Airport available as a test arena for Heart Aerospace’s ES-30 electric aircraft.
The full-scale model aircraft will be tested and used to demonstrate taxiing and charging at the airport. Also taking part in the test activities alongside Swedavia are Heart Aerospace, the airlines BRA and SAS, and the Swedish battery developer Northvolt. The project has received SEK 20m (€1.68m) in co-financing from the Swedish innovation authority Vinnova.
Malmö Airport will now take on an important role in the work to achieve fossil-free aviation, and the infrastructure for charging aircraft at the airport will continue to be developed when the airport serves as host for test activities involving the ES-30 electric aircraft. The ELISE project to promote electric aviation in Sweden serves as the basis for the work. Launched in the spring of 2018, it aims to coordinate advances in Swedish electric aviation by using international positioning, assessing societal needs and making a technology inventory.
“As an airport operator, Swedavia continues to be an active partner in aviation’s necessary energy transition by being involved in and developing the electric aviation of the future. Malmö Airport is uniquely situated, given its proximity to mainland Europe, is the largest airport in southern Sweden and is focused on international cooperation, which provides exciting opportunities for electric aviation and makes the airport an ideal test arena for the continued development of Swedish electric aviation,” said Karin Öhrström, airport director at Malmö Airport.
Malmö Airport is uniquely situated, [making it] an ideal test arena for the continued development of Swedish electric aviation
Phase Two
For the second phase of the ELISE project, the intention was to develop a Swedish-made electric aircraft, and the result was the design of the ES-19 regional electric aircraft, with seating for 19 passengers. In the third phase, the goal is to create and test a full-scale model of Heart Aerospace’s new ES-30 electric aircraft, with seating for 30 passengers, which is equipped with a battery pack that can be charged and then tested and demonstrated at Malmö Airport.
In the long term, all of Swedavia’s airports will provide infrastructure for handling electric aircraft
“It is very gratifying that Swedavia can contribute with our pooled knowledge and skills in electric and battery-powered aircraft. Battery-powered aircraft will contribute to the energy transition and in the long term, all of Swedavia’s airports will provide infrastructure for handling electric aircraft. Naturally, it is important that we can be an arena for taxiing and charging tests, which we will conduct together with our partners,” said John Nilsson, strategic planning manager for electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft at Swedavia.
Swedavia is working to bring about the aviation industry’s energy transition through a variety of measures, including by taking part in a number of projects linked to promoting fossil-free aviation, in particular the development of electric aircraft and – in the long term – hydrogen-fuelled aircraft.
Image: Swedavia
