PEM EM (think ‘Pan Am’ but said with your mouth full) could revolutionise flying
Groningen Airport Eelde wants to develop into an airport specialised in electric flight, and though there are no larger electric planes yet, the expectation is that they will be there within a few years. As soon as it becomes viable, Eelde then wants to start regional services to destinations such as Northern-Germany or Scandinavia.
To promote this, there a special foundation has been created, called ‘PEM EM’, which stands for Providing Efficient New Energy Mobility. The name is allegedly a nod to the American airline Pan Am. As reported by RTV Noord.
The purpose of establishing the foundation is to accelerate the introduction of electric flying on a commercial basis. This requires research for the development of an electric aircraft, as well as on-ground preparations, such as the layout of an airport. “We say that you should not only have ambition, but also the means to express yourself. Otherwise it won’t happen”, says co-founder Jochem Croon.
“Electric flying is environmentally friendly. The Northern Netherlands is at the forefront of the energy transition with its ambitions in the field of the hydrogen economy. But there is another reason: electric flying will only be possible in the near future on short distances, such as between the Northern Netherlands and Scandinavia or Northern Germany, for example. So with these kinds of connections you also open up your own region”, says Croon.
The initiators of PEM EM do not only want to promote the development of electric flying. In the long run, they also hope to set up their own electric airline.
Image: the Eviation Alice (a prototype electric passenger plane) at Paris Air Show 2019. By wikimedia user Matty Blume. License here.