Finnair joins Nordic initiative for electric aviation

A Nordic initiative to drive the development of electric aircraft is now being launched.

Funded by Nordic Innovation (an organization under the Nordic Council of Ministers), a platform is created where Nordic players gather to develop the future of electric aviation, said a press release issued by national flag carrier Finnair.

“Technological innovations are key in solving aviation’s CO2 emission challenge”, said Jaakko Schildt, Chief Operating Officer, Finnair, adding, “in this project we are concretely creating the future of electric aviation, together, and taking an important step towards carbon-neutral flying.”

“We will be a Nordic network that works with both infrastructure, industry issues and new business models”, said Maria Fiskerud, project manager for The Nordic Network for Electric Aviation (NEA).

The NEA network will organize workshops and other events to build knowledge and cooperation in the Nordic countries.

At present, the network has eleven members: Air Greenland, Avinor, Braathens Regional Airlines, El-fly AS, Finnair, Heart Aerospace, Iceland Air, NISA (Nordic Innovation Sustainable Aviation), RISE, SAS and Swedavia.

The network has four focus areas with clear objectives for driving the growth of electric aircraft: standardizing electric air infrastructure in the Nordic countries, developing business models for regional point-to-point connectivity between Nordic countries, developing aircraft technology for Nordic weather conditions and creating a platform for European and global collaborations.

“All the focus areas have the potential to create a lot of impact”, says Nina Egeli, Senior Innovation Advisor from Nordic Innovation.

“We are talking about, amongst others, quality of life, sustainability, accessibility, as well as a huge potential for Nordic businesses to get on board with their innovations. When we combine the best of what the Nordic countries can deliver on mobility, the Nordic region and Nordic businesses can really make their mark and considerably strengthen their position at a global level.”