Norwegian airline Widerøe needs a new fleet of planes to serve its regional passenger base. But it doesn’t want to buy conventional aircraft. It wants a zero emission fleet to undertake its 450 flights per day, and move 2.8 million passengers per year. But so far, no electric planes have been certified for commercial flight and Widerøe is calling on the industry to step up its efforts and deliver aircraft with electric propulsion systems. In fact Norway has set a target to electrify all of its aircraft by 2040 and the European Union has committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 75 percent by 2050. The race is on for the aviation sector to deliver.

But it won’t be easy. Chief executive of VoltAero, the French developer of an advanced 9 seater hybrid electric plane called Cassio explains in this episode, the technical challenges are surmountable. But certification from safety regulators will take time.

Episode recorded at the Nordic EV Summit organised by the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.

FEATURING

Stein Nilson, chief operating officer, Widerøe

Dr Jean Botti, chief executive, VoltAero

Neil Swanson, director, EVA Scotland

SUPPORTERS

This episode is supported by 3D Hubs

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