We are building the eco system driving the transition to a zero-emission aviation industry

Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-30 and aims for it to enter service in 2028. The ES-30 is in its preliminary design phase, which means we are in the process of selecting our key partners and suppliers. We are building the eco system around us that will be part of driving the transition to a zero-emission aviation industry. It is about finding the partners, from the industry and outside of the industry, who share our vision and mission and are committed to make this transition happen. And that we need to be successful together. We can really see that the existing aerospace industry is coming along and are starting to see us as a strategic programme that they want to part of. It means they, in some ways, must abandon old ways of working and find new ways of working together with us.

The ES-30 is a regional electric airplane with a standard seating capacity of 30 passengers driven by electric motors with battery derived energy. It will have a fully electric zero emissions range of 200 kilometres, an extended range of 400 kilometres, all including typical airline reserves.

At Heart we’ve taken the approach in our first programme to limit innovation to where it matters and focused on the electric power train to reduce emissions and costs. Certifying a new aircraft is challenging and that is why we have elected to focus on innovating the power train and keep many other parts of the plane as conventional as possible– the first goal is really to make this airplane take off!

For the next programmes we can allow ourselves to investigate further improvements. However, for this first aircraft we want to rely on the existing supply chain where possible, to mitigate risk and cost. Another important thing to point out is our close collaboration with the certification authorities, with whom we have been engaging since the very start of our programme.

To sum up, our biggest challenge is to make sure all parts necessary to develop, build and deliver an aircraft – from design of the aircraft, recruitment of the right talent to certification processes, supply chain and so on, are progressing in a synchronised manner.

Our aim is to introduce the ES-30 to the market by 2028. It is a challenging timeline, but we have the right team in place to do it. The interest from airlines has been great and Heart Aerospace now has a total of 250 firm orders for the ES-30, with options and purchase rights for an additional 120 aircraft. The company also has letters of intent for a further 91 aircraft.

The Nordic region will likely be a leader in the adoption of electric aviation with several concrete infrastructure projects already underway, including our own collaboration with the government of Åland as an early user case.

The return those airlines are looking for is reliable aircraft that can still be commercially attractive and easy to operate while also delivering an ultra-low carbon footprint.

Globally, air travel is still in its infancy. Only 20% of the world’s population has ever flown on an aircraft, which means that there are over 6 billion people worldwide that have never been airborne. And as they start to be connected to this amazing infrastructure, emissions will increase exponentially.

So we need to break this trend. Airlines are doing a lot of good things, from better route planning to higher load factors, to mixing in biofuels, doing offsets and buying aircraft with more efficient jet engines. But it’s not enough. We need new technology, and a new generation of aircraft, that can completely decarbonise air travel.

I believe there is a demand for green options for air travel, but I think that it can’t only be put on the passengers. Political initiatives need to increase. We need to see actions that will support this transition just like we saw the support for transitioning to electric cars. Initiatives like zero airport fees for electric aircraft and for electricity used to charge electric aircraft to be exempted from VAT would be very helpful. If zero-emissions air travel is less expensive and offers higher connectivity – why wouldn’t everyone want to fly green?

Heart Aerospace’s vision is not only to launch an electric airplane – we want to build a whole new industry. We want to question old truths and bring in experience from other industries. We want to challenge the traditional supply chain to become more cost efficient and we want to bring commercial regional air travel back to the old, golden days when the world was more connected than what we see today.

We are a company with an international melting pot of a team, about 200 people from 28 different countries, and we can see every day how a multitude of perspectives lead to better performance and a better company culture. To reinvent air travel, we must reinvent how we work. We are looking to build an aerospace company for the twenty-first century.

And finally, I would love to see more female engineers on our team and make them feel that Heart Aerospace is their time and place to thrive!