Embraer Eve and Widerøe Zero Form Partnership for Study on eVTOL Operations in Scandinavia

Eve Urban Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Embraer, and Widerøe Zero, the air mobility business incubator division of the Norwegian airline, have agreed to form a partnership for the purpose of an eVTOL vehicle concept of operations study in Scandinavia. The study will use Eve’s zero-emission eVTOL vehicle which is currently in development, and will extend Widerøe’s customer relationship with Embraer several years after it became the first airline to start operating Embraer’s E-190-E2 in April 2018, in Bergen, Norway.

According to Andreas Kollbye Aks, CEO of Widerøe Zero, “Widerøe Zero is excited to work with Eve on the eVTOL concept. Although initially designed for Urban Air Mobility, we expect these highly flexible vehicles to be interesting in a variety of applications also in rural areas; from cargo to passenger transportation. Our partnership with Eve is part of our plan to accelerate the development of sustainable aviation in Norway. We are looking forward to the expanded partnership, unlocking new opportunities to improve regional connectivity”.

According to André Stein, president and CEO of Eve, “In order to contribute to the world target to eliminate greenhouse gas emission by 2050, the aerospace industry depends on disruptive innovation. With Urban Air Mobility, we have a unique opportunity to design a new and optimized mobility ecosystem: infrastructure, vehicle, operations and air traffic management systems. We are thrilled to work together with Widerøe Zero to develop UAM solutions in Scandinavia, with an entirely new, zero-emission, experience to travelers”.

Widerøe Zero, described as a “consultancy-cum-incubator”, is in charge of introducing zero-emissions aircraft operations to the Norwegian airline by 2026, and will additionally contribute to eVTOL market readiness in the region. Widerøe is one of several airlines that has submitted a letter of intent to purchase the 19-seater all-electric ES-19 regional turboprop being developed by Swedish aircraft maker Heart Aerospace.

Eve’s eVTOL aircraft.

Why it’s important: This partnership is the latest move in regional market opportunities for Eve, following a recent sale of 100 eVTOL aircraft to a Brazilian private jet operator and to an Asia-Pacific operator. Benefitting from a startup mindset and backed by Embraer’s more than 50-year history of aircraft manufacturing and certification expertise, Eve is looking to provide globally recognized aircraft and air traffic management software to create solutions that will help safely scale the UAM industry.

Source // Aviation Today

Related:

• Avantto orders 100 eVTOL aircraft from Embraer subsidiary Eve (October 2021)
• Ascent Partners with Embraer for 100 Eve eVTOLs (August 2021)