On Friday, Sweden's most powerful electricity supply for aviation was inaugurated at Skellefteå Airport. It is an important step in the journey towards commercial electric air traffic. Behind the investment are Skellefteå Airport and Skellefteå Kraft. In connection with the inauguration, Sweden's northernmost flight to date was also made with an electric aircraft. “We want to be the airport of the future for electrified aviation. Initially, it will be about test operations for take-off, landing and charging in a realistic environment. In a few years' time, the goal is to be able to offer some of the first commercial electric air routes in Europe,” says Robert Lindberg, CEO of Skellefteå Airport.
Last year, an investment was made that makes it possible to charge electric aircrafts and eVTOLs. The connection is now ready for use. The charging station enables 1 MW of available power for electric aviation, which is sufficient for fast charging of several smaller electric aircrafts at the same time.
With the infrastructure in place, Skellefteå is ready to take the next step in the development of electrified aviation. Part of this is the development program ELIS - Electrified Aviation in Skellefteå. It is a collaboration between Skellefteå Airport, Skellefteå Kraft, Northvolt, Skellefteå Science City and EIT InnoEnergy.
- Skellefteå is the right place for this venture. We have an airport with available space, Skellefteå Kraft with research, development and production of renewable electricity and both Northvolt and EIT InnoEnergy in the region. In addition, as of this autumn, we have climate-smart flight training on site hrough Green Flight Academy, says Robert Lindberg.
With the extensive electrification that the world is facing, completely new opportunities are created in aviation. With electric flying, the chance is given to be able to offer sustainable accessibility for both society, companies and private individuals, and in connection with Friday's inauguration, both aircraft and charging structure were shown.
For more information, contact:
Robert Lindberg, CEO Skellefteå Airport: +46 70 551 70 75, robert.lindberg@sft.se
Skellefteå Airport är Västerbottens näst största flygplats med ett strategiskt läge mellan Luleå och Umeå. Flygplatsen ägs av Skellefteå Kommun och har cirka 300 000 resenärer per år. Flygplatsen erbjuder reguljärflyg med avgångar till Arlanda och utrikes reguljärflyg till Polen. Chartertrafik erbjuds till Gran Canaria, Rhodos, Kreta, Thailand, Turkiet, Nederländerna, samt Kroatien.
Building a large urban droneport in a subarctic climate is an innovative project with no direct templates or guidelines. After extensive planning, the site is now paved and the buildings are in place, but some work remains before one of Europe’s largest urban drone airports can be inaugurated.
The take-off and landing area and surrounding areas have now been paved with materials that significantly reduce climate impact. By using Asfalt Zero – a climate-smart asphalt made with pine oil – Skellefteå is setting an example for environmentally friendly infrastructure.
It started with an idea on a post-it note two years ago, and by the end of this year, the idea will become a reality. Skellefteå Droneport is one of the first droneports in Europe being built in an urban environment. The Droneport will be a physical space for development, research, education, and commercialization of drone-related solutions.