Why Norway is building an ecosystem for electric aviation
Sustainability In The Air
In this episode, we speak with Jan Petter Steinland, Director of Strategic Analysis and Transformation at the Civil Aviation Authority Norway, about how the administrative body is building an ecosystem for electric and hybrid aviation.
Steinland discusses:
- Why a regulator is leading, not an airline: How CAA Norway and Avinor built the test arena without a launch customer, arguing that backing one airline would narrow the field before anyone knows which technologies will succeed.
- Learnings from 126 electric flights: BETA Technologies and Bristow Norway ran a trial for electric flights for six months between Stavanger and Bergen.
- The real charging challenge: Turnaround time is mostly a question of charging power, but consecutive charging heats batteries over a long operating day. Steinland believes global standardisation on battery cooling approaches are needed as varying solutions at every airport are unlikely to scale.
- Norway’s SAF mandate: How Norway set the world’s first blending mandate starting at 0.5%, to prove that blending could be regulated, reported and followed up.
- Norway’s international test arena for zero‑ and low‑emission aviation: How agreed learning objectives and an open, cross-industry scope set the test arena apart from a closed environment built around one manufacturer.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Kyle Clark, Founder and CEO of BETA Technologies, who discusses the realities of bringing electric aircraft into operation. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
Links & More:
Civil Aviation Authority Norway
Norway completes its first electric aviation test project - CAA Norway
