Transport / Hybrid plane ‘logical stepping stone’ to fully electric aircraft, Loganair chief says
THE MOVE to fully electric planes is “some years away”, the chief executive of Loganair has predicted.
Luke Farajallah suggested the concept of hybrid-electric aircraft is seen in the industry as a “normal, natural and logical stepping stone” to get to a fully electric version.
His comments at Tuesday’s Shetland external transport forum came after Loganair signed a partnership with a hybrid-electric plane manufacturer.
Loganair is working with Heart Aerospace, which is developing a hybrid-electric aircraft with the capacity to carry up to 30 passengers. There is a hope that they could be flying in Loganair colours before the end of the decade.
The issue of electric planes was raised at Tuesday’s external transport forum by Green councillor Alex Armitage.
He said it is interesting to look at how technology can be used to reduce emissions in transport.
But Armitage raised the point of how some people question the green credentials of hybrid electric cars – and whether this applies to aircraft too.
Farajallah said the principle is much the same compared to the car industry.
He confirmed in a hybrid-electric plane there would be conventional propulsion engine on board too which could be used as a “back-up” should it be required.
“Yes you could argue you’re carrying excess weight and a burden, but you’re doing it with a view to it being a very short stepping stone between this and an all-electric solution,” Farajallah said.
He highlighted that the expectation is that the plane in question could fly 125 miles fully electric, if there were 30 passengers on board.
Sumburgh to Aberdeen for example is around 200 miles.
But Farajallah’s view is that by the time the aircraft actually goes into the production the fully-electric range will have increased.
He also noted how a service carrying less passengers and weight could fly further on electric.
Farajallah added that there is already a second and third generation aircraft under consideration that could fly longer distances.
The Loganair chief also said that the airline will be working with the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) – which operates airports like Sumburgh, Kirkwall and Inverness – regarding charging infrastructure.
The plane would take around 30 minutes to charge.
Farajallah reiterated his view that Shetland and Orkney are “perfect locations on the map” for the project.
He added that Loganair will be up in the Northern Isles “fairly shortly” starting use cases to demonstrate how and where this technology could be used.
The meeting also heard that the Heart Aerospace aircraft could be tested in the US as early as 2025, with the Mojave Desert lined up as the location.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
