Norway has hundreds of fjords and thousands of lakes with a population living between high mountains and the sea making travel infrastructure environmentally challenging and expensive.
Seaplanes can be a useful, if limited solution, for reducing travel time for time-critical needs.
The Norwegian company Elfly Group is going one step better by developing an electric prototype called Noemi (No-Emissions).
NoEmi is a 9-seater seaplane with a non-pressurized cabin capable of flying a distance of 170km range at a top speed of 250km/h. It has two electric motors with a maximum combined output of 1MW.
The project is supported by SINTEF (Norway’s industrial research institute) for regional transportation within the country.
You can see a previous article about SINTEF in fN here at this link.
Elfly have received USD10 million grant funding from Enova SF‘s climate and environmental fund, which is backed by the Norwegian government. This grant funding is matched by a group of around 20 private investors, including the founders.
The seaplane’s hull is designed for efficient take-offs with minimal power using new innovations from the marine sector. During take-off, an electric seaplane encounters resistance from both water and air, impeding its forward movement. The resistance an electric seaplane faces refers to the force opposing the direction of its take-off. Its magnitude directly impacts the acceleration performance of the electric seaplane and influences the distance and time required for the take-off taxiing phase[1].
Last year, Electric Power Systems (EPS) from North Logan, Utah was selected as their battery supplier. EPS is a provider of high-power, scalable powertrains that are certifiable for electrified aviation. It develops energy storage systems, DC fast-charging stations, and electric propulsion products for the aerospace sector. EPS has battery systems powering customer flight demonstrator vehicles for clients like NASA X-57, Bell Nexus, Aurora Flight Sciences Pegasus, Embraer Ipanema, and Boeing CAV.
Elfly plans to have 15 Noemi aircraft under its own air operator certificate (AOC) around 2030 starting the domestic market.
Elfly (pronounced ɛl fliː or ‘ell flee’) means electric aviation in Norwegian and was founded in 2018. Their commercial headquarters are located in Bergen, while their engineers are located in hangar facilities in Tønsberg and Jarlsberg. They claim to be a tight-knit team of world-class engineers and innovators from more than 14 countries.
Photo: Elfy
[1]Duan, X.; Sun, W.; Wei, M.; Zuo, Z.; Yang, Y. Investigation on the Hydrodynamics of Seaplane Takeoff Process. Adv. Aeronaut. Eng. 2019, 10, 94–101. [Google Scholar]
