The UK’s first electric commuter flight is to depart from Exeter Airport and land at Newquay Airport.
It follows a a successful bid to UK Research and Innovation’s £30 Future Flight Challenge from a consortium led by electric aviation firm Ampaire.
The consortium, which also includes Rolls-Royce Electrical, University of Nottingham, Loganair Ltd, Exeter and Devon Airport Ltd, Cornwall Airport Ltd, Heart of the South West LEP, and UK Power Network Services, has received £2.4m from the Future Flight Challenge for its £5m 2ZERO (Towards Zero Emissions in Regional Aircraft Operations) programme.
The demonstration flights will be carried out using Ampaire’s six-seat Electric EEL aircraft and, in a later phase, with a 19-seat Eco Otter, hybrid-electric retrofit of the workhorse Twin Otter commuter aircraft. These test aircraft will be used to develop and evaluate requirements for a fully integrated electric aviation infrastructure.
The 2ZERO team believes an effective demonstration of hybrid-electric aircraft in an integrated system, including the necessary charging and battery storage infrastructure, could lead to a fundamental shift in regional airline operations.
Emissions would be reduced by up to 70% with hybrid-electric aircraft and entirely with a subsequent generation of all-electric aircraft.
Andrew Bell, chief executive of Regional and City Airports, the owner of Exeter Airport, said: “Our 2ZERO programme is incredibly exciting for us and the South West region.
“Exeter is an important regional airport and this project really puts us on the map as a forward-looking airport and demonstrates our commitment, along with our partners, to making the future of aviation a sustainable one.”
