The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) has agreed to partner with ZeroAvia to test and develop zero-emissions travel across a new luxury tourism destination with a focus on environmental sustainability and regeneration.
To transport to, from and around its resort, TRSDC plans to operate a fleet of 30 seaplane variants of the Cessna Caravan. ZeroAvia has been commissioned to explore retrofitting the planes with its powertrain technology and test its viability for offering clean, commercial travel.
“In order to achieve our ambitions, we’ve had to become much more than a real estate developer,” said John Pagano, CEO of TRSDC. “We are an incubator of ideas, leveraging the most innovative concepts and technologies to help us deliver a new archetype for tourism, which pushes beyond sustainability to deliver regeneration for people and the planet. Clean, green transport is fundamental to realising that aim, which is why we’re working with forward-thinking partners such as ZeroAvia, to bring about a new way of travelling.”
Under the agreement, TRSDC and ZeroAvia will collaborate on developing the technology, including a roadmap for delivering the production, supply and infrastructure necessary to support hydrogen-powered air travel in Saudi Arabia.
ZeroAvia’s VP Business Development, James Peck, added that “TRSDC recognises the potential of zero-emission propulsion in ensuring that travel across the resort plays its part in the overall sustainability ambitions of the project. Trialling ZeroAvia’s 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrains for the Caravan means tourists could be taking these zero-emission flights to the destination by the middle of this decade.”
Established to drive the development of the Red Sea Project as a luxury, regenerative tourism destination, TRSDC will set new standards in sustainable development and position Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map. The company recently acquired AMAALA, another resort further north on the Red Sea coast.
Andreas Flourou, Executive Director, Operations – Mobility at TRSDC concluded: “As we gear up to welcome our first guests early next year, the topic of smart and sustainable mobility is a hot one. We are actively engaging with industry-leading partners to help us identify and deliver the solutions we need spanning land, sea and air transportation. ZeroAvia is a leader in supplying zero-emission aircraft and we’re excited to bring them on board as a valuable partner as we seek to create the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism destination.”
ZeroAvia has also collaborated with Edmonton International Airport in Canada to develop the hydrogen infrastructure both it and Villeneuve Airport will require to deliver zero-emission flights.
