“With Power Up, we’re taking a step further to promote sustainability and innovation.”
This week, Lelystad Airport, along with 17 aviation and mobility partners, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collectively pave the way for the introduction of electric regional aviation!
The introduction of electric regional air mobility (eRAM)* to facilitate and accelerate. A group of 18 aviation and mobility organizations, working together under the name Power Up, committed today to support a new proposition for efficient, low CO2, and convenient travel between and to regional airports. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding, Eindhoven Airport, Groningen Airport Eelde, Lelystad Airport, Maastricht Aachen Airport, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Royal Schiphol Group, along with the ASL Group, LUCY, KLM, Evia Aero, Maeve, Vaeridion, VoltAero, the Dutch Railways, Deloitte, M3 Consultancy, NACO, and Royal NLR have agreed to jointly clear the path for the introduction of electric regional aviation.
The partners aim to develop passenger processes and align operational airport processes together. Test flights are also scheduled to explore various electric aircraft technologies. The Power Up partners from different countries are pooling their knowledge to ensure the project aligns with future technological developments and regulations. This knowledge also plays a central role in the development of electric regional aviation as part of future door-to-door mobility solutions.
Power Up was launched in 2021 by the largest regional airports in the Netherlands with the support of the Royal Schiphol Group, KLM, and a small group of other partners. Within the Power Up project, the airports aim to gain insight into the feasibility, potential, and handling of electric flights. The recent period has been used to study the feasibility and relevance of new electric aircraft technologies for markets, the environment, and society. With today’s agreement, the introduction of electric regional aviation is drawing closer. This will enable regional connections to be improved in a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and flexible way.
Regional airports involved in Power Up aim to be operational by 2026, having developed a good product for passengers in collaboration with partners, so that the first electric commercial passenger flights can be organized thereafter.
The agreement is signed for a period of 2 years with the option to extend.
*Electric Regional Air Mobility (eRAM) refers to the operation of commercial passenger flights by aircraft with 9 to 50 seats powered by electric motors driven by batteries, hybrid-electric, or hydrogen-electric propulsion systems at distances of 150 to 750 km.
5 October 2023.
