Swedavia to take part in study on electric air route between Umeå Airport and Åre Östersund Airport

Swedavia participates in the project “Fossil-free aviation in northern Sweden – a feasibility study,” which has now been granted SEK 9.5 million by the Swedish Energy Agency. Part of the project is a case study of an electric air route between Umeå Airport and Åre Östersund Airport.

“For many years, Swedavia has been involved in and driven the transition to fossil-free aviation, which is absolutely crucial to the transport of the future, which includes aviation. We have driven this work through a number of initiatives and in collaboration with the rest of the aviation industry, with a focus on increasing the potential to choose sustainable aviation fuel. We are also working to prepare our airports for handling electric aircraft when these are available in the commercial market. We consider it very positive that the project is now starting up with our partners. It will be an important piece of the puzzle in the continued work to achieve fossil-free aviation – regionally, nationally and internationally,” says B-O Lindgren, airport director at Umeå Airport, Swedavia.

The project is run in partnership with the Municipality of Umeå, BioFuel Region, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and RISE Processum, and the aim is to investigate the conditions needed for aviation powered by biofuels, electricity and hydrogen. The goal is to map out the conditions required for green aviation and to survey sustainable value chains as well as studying what the conditions at the airports are like for introducing fossil-free fuels.

Swedavia, which operates and develops the ten State-owned airports in Sweden, previously adopted a strategy for electric aviation, with the goal being that all ten Swedavia airports will be able to handle electric aircraft and that the first commercial electric air route can be placed in service in around 2025.

In the autumn of 2020, the electric aviation project Green Flyway opened the premises for an international test centre for electric aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems (drones) at Åre Östersund Airport and Frösö Park. As a result, Åre Östersund Airport became the first of Swedavia’s ten airports to test and prepare the infrastructure to enable the transition to the increased electrification of aviation.

For further information about the project (in Swedish): Press and information material – Municipality of Umeå (umea.se)