Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, to launch UK’s first electric airline…
The green energy tycoon Dale Vince is planning to launch an electric airline, “Ecojet”, which he thinks is “a move designed to prove polluting industries can decarbonise.” The hope is it will launch early in 2024, with a 19-seater plane travelling on a route between Edinburgh and Southampton (which could be done by train). The planes will run initially on kerosene-based fuel for the first year, before being retrofitted with engines that convert so-called green hydrogen into electricity. Vince said: “A lot of people seem to think that people who are eco-conscious want everyone to live a life of self-denial in a cave. Green living is not about giving things up – everything we like to have in this life can be done in a net zero life.” That, of course, depends on producing an immense amount of zero-carbon electricity without causing other environmental damage. Ecojet will at first have several 19-seater planes capable of travelling for 300 miles – ie. routes that don’t need flights. Vince hopes to expand the number of routes out to cover all of Britain’s big cities. Then 18 months later, he hopes to have 70-seater planes capable of flying to Europe. The company is in the process of applying for a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority and securing takeoff and landing slots at airports. .Tweet Green energy tycoon to launch UK’s first electric airline But Dale Vince’s Ecojet plane will run on kerosene-based fuel in 2024 to enable quick start to project By Alex Lawson (Guardian) Mon 17 July 2023 The green energy tycoon Dale Vince is planning to launch Britain’s first electric airline in a move designed to prove polluting industries can decarbonise. Ecojet, styled as a “flag carrier for green Britain”, will launch early next year with a 19-seater plane travelling on a route between Edinburgh and Southampton. The planes will run initially on kerosene-based fuel for the first year, before being retrofitted with engines that convert green hydrogen i
