Swedish airport operator Swedavia has developed a strategy for electric aviation.
The goal of the newly announced strategy is to enable all 10 Swedavia airports to handle electric aircraft by 2025, when the company also hopes to facilitate the first commercial electrified service.
The investment in electric aviation is the latest stage in Swedavia’s work to promote the changeover to fossil-free domestic air transport in Sweden by 2030 and fossil-free air transport for all flights originating in the country by 2045.
According to the company’s president and CEO, Jonas Abrahamsson, electrification will play a key role in the long-term transformation of the aviation industry.
“Swedavia wants to take an active part at an early stage of this development and get an understanding of the conditions needed for electric aviation from an infrastructure perspective,” he explained.
A testing venue for electric aircraft is to be put into operation at Åre Östersund Airport in autumn 2020, by which stage it will be possible to receive the first electric aircraft. Planning is currently underway for aircraft parking stands, infrastructure for charging aircraft and the power supply needed at the airport and to ensure the necessary permits.
In the long term, all 10 Swedavia airports will have the infrastructure required to handle electric aircraft. In addition to Åre Östersund, Umeå Airport and Visby Airport are in the initial stages of developing electric aviation.
All 10 Swedavia airports are expected to be carbon neutral in terms of their own operations by the end of 2020.