The hope is that the investment in a Swedish-made electric regional aircraft will create many new high-tech jobs.

– It's not really just about building an airplane, it's about building an industry in Sweden. The products are not just the plane, but the product is the industry that we develop, and that extends through the education system into all industries, says Anders Forslund, a researcher at Chalmers in Gothenburg who leads the Elise development project, and continues:

– We started a little later than they did in other countries, but now we are up and running and we are probably running faster than they are.

There is intensive research underway around the world to transition from fossil fuels to electric power in aviation, particularly in countries like the US, China and Germany. This includes everything from small startups to large aircraft manufacturers like Boeing.

The Elise initiative, Electric Air Transport in Sweden, took the step into the hot area of electric aviation as recently as this spring, where researchers are now working together with authorities and companies with connections to aviation, including Saab.

– That's where we have the big advantage in Sweden – that we have a lot of this expertise. We are actually one of the few countries in the world that has the ability to produce certified aircraft.

The hopes are that the Swedish aviation industry will find its own niche in the international competition. First, by developing a plane with space for eight passengers for regional flights of up to 400 kilometers.

The schedule is set: First an all-electric test plane in 2.5 years and in 2026 the first certified Swedish-manufactured plane will enter domestic traffic. For safety reasons, a hybrid variant first.

– With these 400 kilometers, we will be able to cover approximately one third of domestic travel in Sweden.

Where will the first route be?

– There are a large number of routes, but we are primarily looking at small routes. Stockholm-Visby could be a route. We are also looking a lot at Norrland, such as Örnsköldsvik-Sundsvall or Örnsköldsvik-Östersund routes.

Source: sverigesradio.se