Elfly Group, developers of the all-electric seaplane program ‘Noemi’, (No Emissions) has announced a partnering with the government of Gotland, Sweden, to pursue its goal of zero-emission commercial flights to the island by 2027.
Located in the Baltic Sea off Sweden’s east coast, Gotland is the largest of Sweden’s islands, some 90km east of the mainland. Region Gotland is passionate about securing more sustainable solutions like ‘Noemi’ and would like to have at least one commercial operator flying electric aircraft from the island in the future.
“Our electric seaplane Noemi can create new opportunities for Gotland and showcase the potential of zero-emission solutions in many markets worldwide. We will contribute to Gotland so that it reaches its goal to start commercial zero-emission flights by 2030,” said Eric Lithun, CEO of Elfly Group.
Interest in next generation seaplane travel is mounting. Speaking last month at Revolution.aero in London Eric Lithun highlighted: “These new electric seaplanes are certifiable to both VFR and IFR conditions – today. Huge amounts of funding have been poured into eVTOLs that don’t have the regulations to certify, so they have a lot of work to do to get certificated. We are working within the rules and regulations of today. Commercial next generation electric seaplane operations don’t need costly infrastructure, just a small pontoon with chargers, dockside. The water is our runway.”
The Elfly Group, established in Bergen, Norway in 2018, aims to bring environmentally friendly aviation to Norway initially and then to the rest of the world. Its leading program is a modern-day amphibious aircraft with batteries and two electric engines, inspired by the venerable de Havilland Twin Otter and Grumman’s Mallard. Called ‘Noemi’ (No Emissions), its seaplane is designed for 200-km. air journeys. The prototype (experimental version) of Noemi is being readied for flight in 2026. It will have an unpressurized cabin and be powered by two electric motors with up to 1MWcombined output.
