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.
If everything goes according to plan, Skellefteå can make history in terms of electrified aviation. Here is the world's most sustainable pilot academy, a test bed for battery- and hydrogen-powered flights and soon one of Europe's largest droneports. The team at the ELIS program with Henrik Littorin, Magnus Wiklund and Annelie Viksten tell us more about the continued plans for electric flights in Skellefteå.
All test facilities for autonomous aviation across Europe have their own specific focus, but all struggle with the same obstacles. This became evident when representatives from Skellefteå Droneport participated in the networking event organized recently in Amsterdam by the European UAS Test Centre Alliance.
After a few days at the Amsterdam Drone Week, the conclusion was that the work on the Skellefteå Droneport is a crucial piece in the development of drones and drone-related services.