Arctic Aviation Hub test environments take key roles in three new projects

Together, the projects strengthen Arctic Aviation Hub and Skellefteå’s position as a place where research, industry and technology development come together. They also create new opportunities to turn research and innovation into solutions that can be demonstrated and evaluated in real world environments.

Connecting electrified aviation with transport and energy systems

The Elektra project, Energy and Transport Hubs for Regional Development, will explore how the transition to electric and other fossil free regional aviation can interact with rail, road transport and the energy system.

The project will develop an integrated analysis framework that brings together the operational characteristics of future fossil free aircraft, passenger travel demand and connections between different modes of transport. It will also examine the resulting energy and power requirements at airports.

Skellefteå Airport and Örnsköldsvik Airport will serve as representative partners in the project, while VTI and Umeå University are academic partners.

A new strategic research centre for drone swarms

Arctic Aviation Hub and Skellefteå Droneport will also participate in CHASS, a new strategic research centre focusing on drone swarms.

Funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, the centre brings together Linköping University, Lund University and Örebro University with partners from industry and society. The research will contribute to the development of technologies and capabilities that enable multiple drones to operate and collaborate as coordinated swarms.

Skellefteå Droneport will contribute as a test facility, providing opportunities to bring research out of the lab and test new solutions in a real world environment.

Read more about CHASS and the funding from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research.

Combining ground robots and drones for autonomous logistics

The third project, led by VTI, is Ground air swarms for rural civilian and military logistics: policy, services and demonstration.

The project will investigate services involving autonomous ground vehicles, develop policies for coordinated ground and air swarms, and demonstrate how a ground based robotic vehicle can operate with support from drones.

The project brings together a broad group of partners. Arctic Aviation Hub and Skellefteå Science City will contribute to the project, with Skellefteå Droneport serving as one of the environments for testing and demonstration.

Together, the three projects strengthen the role of Arctic Aviation Hub and Skellefteå’s test environments as platforms where research, technology and infrastructure can meet and where new solutions for future aviation and autonomous transport can be tested in practice.