Resource World Magazine

66 www.resourceworld.com J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 9 Electrical seaplane fleet planned for West Coast According to Redmond, Washington- based magniX CEO, Roei Ganzarski, the aviation industry contributes 12% of US carbon emissions and 4.9% globally. To address this concern, magniX, which is owned by a Singapore-based conglomer - ate, Clermont Group, and Harbour Air Seaplanes, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, have announced a part- nership aimed at converting Harbour Air Seaplanes into what is believed to be the world's first all-electric commercial fleet. The electric planes will be powered by the 750 horsepower magni500 all-electric motor. "The intent is to eventually con - vert the whole fleet," said Harbour Air's founder and CEO, Greg McDougall. "It would be a staged situation because the range of the (electric) aircraft presently, with the present battery capacity, would be around a half an hour with a half an hour reserve. But, that's changing rap - idly with the development of the battery technology." The first aircraft converted will be the DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver, a six- passenger commercial aircraft used across Harbour Air's route network. Harbour Air and magniX expect to conduct first flight tests of the all-electric aircraft in late 2019. This partnership follows significant milestones for both companies, includ - ing the successful testing of magniX's 350 HP all-electric motor and the addition of a Vancouver to Seattle route in Harbour Air's destination roster. McDougall said nobody has ever flown a fully electric commercial flight. "If you think about it, it's the evolution of trans - portation toward electric propulsion," he said. "The internal combustion engine is all but obsolete, really, for future develop- ment. It's all about electric." Harbour Air operates 12 routes between hubs like Seattle and Vancouver and across the Pacific Northwest transports more than 500,000 passengers on 30,000 com - mercial flights each year, according to The Vancouver Sun. The company is looking to get all needed approvals in a timely way as it moves toward electric power, according to McDougall. "We don't want to be trying to get through the regulatory process after it becomes more economically viable; we want to do it now." "Price comparisons between standard and electric planes are difficult to make because Harbour Air is still in the research- and-development phase," he said. "What we're doing here is retrofitting new technol - ogy to older technology. The cost is very similar to us putting a turbine engine on the aircraft, but the big win is that the electric motor doesn't have to be rebuilt every 2,500 These seaplanes at the Harbour Air Seaplanes base in the Vancouver, BC harbour will soon be all electric powered. Photo by Ellsworth Dickson. Green Technologies by Jane Foutz

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