In 2026, the P-Volt passenger plane, full electric means for the transport of commuters, is expected to start operating. The companies at the base of the design are Rolls-Royce and the Italian manufacturer Tecnam, together with the Norwegian Widerøe airline company.
The fully electric P-Volt plane, based on the 11-seat Tecnam P2012 Traveller aircraft, is ideal for short take-offs and landings, and for the routes in the North and in the west coast of Norway. The plane will make its debut precisely in this nation: owing to its topography, Norway (renowned for its pioneering spirit in the sustainability issue) widely uses the airline traffic for its transports and for this reason it pursues the ambitious goal that all national flights are at zero emissions by 2040.
The programme announced by Rolls-Royce and Widerøe dates back to two years ago, to 2019, when it started a strategic partnership with Tecnam to develop the Tecnam P2010 plane modified with H3PS propulsion system, the first parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system for general aviation, started together with Rotax in May 2018.
