Swedish electric airplane maker Heart Aerospace and the Government of Åland announced a collaboration to explore early use case for Heart’s electric regional airplane, the ES-30, in developing sustainable air services for the Baltic Sea group of islands.
Heart Aerospace is currently working on the ES-30, a regional electric airplane with a standard seating capacity of 30 passengers. Powered by electric motors with battery-derived energy, the ES-30 will have a fully electric zero-emissions range of 200 km (124 miles), an extended range of 400 km (248.5 miles) with 30 passengers, and the flexibility to fly up to 800 km (497 miles) with 25 passengers, all including typical airline reserves.
Åland is an autonomous part of Finland with a Swedish-speaking population. It is located in the Baltic Sea between two expansive economic regions, the south of Finland and the Stockholm region on Sweden’s east coast.
“This is a significant step in the development of the ES-30 as it allows us to focus on the operating infrastructure required in support of zero-emissions flying out of Mariehamn. We look forward to working together with the Government of Åland to make this a reality,” said Simon Newitt, chief commercial officer at Heart Aerospace.
Åland currently has three flight connections from its capital city Mariehamn to Stockholm (Sweden) and to Helsinki and Turku (Finland). Mariehamn is located less than 150 km (93 miles) from the Swedish capital Stockholm and Finland’s third-largest city Turku, and less than 300 km (186 miles) from Finland’s capital Helsinki and second-largest city, Tampere, which makes it an ideal early-use case for Heart Aerospace’s ES-30.
Flight services are essential for Åland’s economic and social connection to nearby major cities on the mainland. With a population of 30,000 people, Åland has a thriving business community with more than 2,800 enterprises, of which three are publicly traded.
“Åland has had a positive population trend for the past 50 years and continues to grow each year. As an island community, our flight connections are vital to us, but so is our environment. That is why quiet, zero-emission electric flights are highly interesting to us,” said Fredrik Karlström, Minister for Trade and Industry in the Government of Åland.
