Tecnam P-Volt chosen for Norwegian electric aviation project

Picture: Rolls-Royce

Interesting twist in the Norwegian electric aviation story today.

Norway has one of the most ambitious (perhaps the most) aviation decarbonization programmes in the world: starting electric domestic flights by 2030 and getting to zero carbon, also on domestic, by 2040.

To do so you need planes of a certain capacity and, in order to get there faster, Widerøe and Rolls-Royce have set up a research facility in Trondheim.

Now, I must admit I was not expecting Italian manufacturer Tecnam to join the fray with its P-Volt all-electric aircraft.

Tecnam, thus, joins Wideroe and Rolls-Royce in this quest to get an all-electric aircraft operating regular domestic routes in Norway and…attention to the time-frame! because it could well happen, if things go according to plan, as early as 2026.

Looking at it from the outside, I’d have put my money on Swedish electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace as a likely candidate for the job, given its developing an aircraft in the under 19-seat range and there are many industrial linkages between the different Scandinavian countries.

Tecnam is certainly no newcomer to the electric aviation space, they were instrumental in the development of NASA’s X-57, an experimental electric aircraft with distributed propulsion.

The P-Volt is based on the 11 seater P2012, so rather small, but bear in mind that most Norwegian domestic routes are short and thin. In fact, three quarters of them are under 275km long. Also electric flying with its lower operational costs can make it possible to operate with much smaller cabins what is essentially a commuter service for the communities scattered all across this very mountainous country.

I guess other regions with similar challenges and environmental conscience, like Kvarken, which straddles northern Finland and Sweden, are going to be watching closely.

Btw, if interested in Norway’s green flying push, in addition to our article of reference summing up the Norwegian aviation decarbonization strategy, check out also this podcast with the head of the carbon reduction programme at Norways’ airport operator Avinor and with Norwegian electric seaplane maker Equator Aircraft.