All air traffic in Norway will be electric by 2040

Electric AircraftElectric Aircraft.Photo: Avinor

Aviation will be greener, and Avinor chief Dag Falk-Petersen says all Norwegian air traffic will be electric by 2040.

 

Svalbard airport is operated partly by solar cells, and at Oslo Airport, snow is stored during the winter to be used to cool the buildings in the summer. They are also drilling for geothermal reserves at Gardermoen, reports NRK.

The aircraft still burn fuel that releases large amounts of CO2, but that may end, according to CEO Dag Falk-Petersen in Avinor.

– By 2040 all air traffic here in Norway will be electric. We will start small and develop and facilitate the short-range network at a later date, so that the entire country is serviced by electric aircraft within passenger traffic.

Currently, there is no infrastructure for electric aircraft in Norway, but the first electric plane is expected to land later this year.

“Had you asked me a few years ago, I would have laughed,” said the climate and environmental minister Vidar Helgesen (H) who can not sit still waiting for electrification.

“We know that aviation traffic will increase sharply in the future and that it is important for environmental measures. Firstly air traffic has to pass on biofuels. Today, 1.25 million liters of biofuel is being filled in planes at Oslo airport, but this is going to increase,” he says.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today