Swedish airport operator, Swedavia, is making Malmö Airport available as a test centre 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 Swedish hub as part of the ELISE project to promote electric aviation in Sweden. The project, which was launched earlier in the summer of 2023 and is expected to run until the spring of 2025, has received SEK 20 million in funding from the Swedish innovation authority Vinnova. The project was launched in the spring of 2018 with the aim of coordinating 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 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, Malmö’s Airport Director.
Capable of seating 30 passengers, Heart Aerospace’s ES-30 electric aircraft is equipped with a battery pack that will be charged, tested and demonstrated at Malmö. Noting that battery-powered aircraft will contribute to Swedavia’s energy transition, Swedavia’s Strategic Planning Manager for electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft, John Nilsson, commented on how gratifying it is that Swedavia can contribute to this transition. “In the long term, all of Swedavia’s airports will provide infrastructure for handling electric aircraft,” he said. “Naturally, it is important that we can be an arena for taxiing and charging tests, which we will conduct together with our partners.”
Swedavia has initiated several other measures to bring about the industry’s energy transition, including the introduction of charging stations in place for electric aircraft at Visby Airport and Åre Östersund Airport among other air transport hubs. The airport operator was also previously involved in a case study using electric aircraft to serve a route between Umeå Airport and Åre Östersund.
