The waiting is over!
The maiden voyage takes place on August 28th
Now she is finally here, the first custom-made ship for the route Vaasa – Umeå
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Aurora Botnia is equipped with the latest environmental technology available on the market, powered by electricity and renewable fuels.
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A decade of work will reach its culmination. This major milestone is a concrete result of a highly successful, long-standing, and enormous cross-border effort.
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Towards Even Stronger Cooperation
Future Festival in Vaasa
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Riitta Björkenheim, Tomas Häyry and Richard Carstedt rejoice over Norwegian FREYR Battery’s letter of intent with Vaasa. The Nordic battery belt will become a reality, and the region now needs both courage and cooperation to attract the necessary labour force – and to stop its own brain drain.
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Nordic Battery Belt to Become the Industry’s Silicon Valley
Two days after revealing that Norwegian FREYR Battery will establish itself in Vaasa and also build five battery plants in Norway’s Mo i Rana, Mr Tom Einar Jensen, CEO of Norwegian FREYR Battery attended Wasa Future Festival via a video link and received resounding applause after his speech.
- We can do much more than what has been done so far. Now is the time for this region, from Norway in the west to Finland in the east, to act as an example for others. We can become an epicentre for a value chain of circular economy – a Scandinavian Silicon Valley within the battery industry with a production capacity that will soon become up to 60 times greater than it is currently, Mr Jensen explains.
Spillover effects of the establishments that will take place in the GigaVaasa industrial zone can become enormous. According to Mr Rickard Carstedt, Chairman of the Regional Development Board in Västerbotten, every new job in the battery factory may create five other new jobs in the form of spillover effects.
- Development may become gigantic, and we now need courageous political decisions. We must build the housing that will be needed and get the competence to stay in the region. We face the same challenges in Skellefteå as in Vaasa, and collaboration becomes increasingly important now that we’re on the way towards a new, shared labour market, Mr Carstedt explains.
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One Step Closer to Regional Electric Aviation
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Lars Westin from Umeå University and Helka Kalliomäki and Antti Mäenpää from the University of Vaasa have been involved in FAIR’s first work package and were called to outline their conclusions at Wasa Future Festival.
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The two-year project FAIR (Finding Innovations to Accelerate the Implementation of Electric Regional Aviation) was launched about a year ago and can be summarized as a first step in preparing the Kvarken region for an early implementation of electric aviation. At Wasa Future Festival, we learned more about what the project had accomplished during the year. The essence of presentations was clear – the technology already exists, it is undergoing rapid development, and what are now needed are the will and courage to make more joint decisions.
The Kvarken region provides an excellent area for early implementation due to many reasons:
- Our pre-existing relations and long experience in transport-related cooperation forms a solid foundation. That the region is also home to an energy cluster and is seeing the birth of a completely new industry – a battery belt – simultaneously reinforces the need and supports development. The region’s increased cross-border tourism would also greatly benefit from electric aviation, explains Mr Isak Brändström, one of the Project Managers of FAIR.
Major challenges lie in awareness, acceptance, and the initially high investment costs. In order for the region to spearhead the development of electric aviation, it must be able to handle the investments and the subsequent capital costs.
- But we also need to understand the users’ needs and reasonable price levels. Cost-efficient charging solutions must be developed and airport fees must be reviewed. This requires cooperation both between the state and authorities and between local electricity companies and other actors, Mr Brändström summarize.
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The Kvarken Region – A Global Future Region with A Golden Opportunity
Several new mega-investments are underway in the region and we probably cannot yet imagine the extent of their impacts. In any case – we have space, competence, clean nature, and pleasant living environments, and it is here that sunrise industries are now establishing themselves. How can we meet their needs?
Richard Carstedt, Paula Erkkilä, Arne Langset, Åsa Ågren Wikström and Joakim Strand agree on what the Kvarken region needs to utilize its golden opportunity.
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CROSS-BORDER PROJECTS
FAIR – Promoting electric aviation – Reports
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REPORT
Towards Electric Aviation in the Kvarken Region
This paper is a first investigation of the possibilities to establish a commercially viable regular commuter airline in east-west direction over the Kvarken strait between Finland and Sweden. Institutional solutions are proposed, as well as measures to be taken in order for the region to reap the benefits of such a route. Initially, the report thus deals with the most important question for a regional policy maker, the sources to and the creation of wealth in the region. It is suggested that the Kvarken region must use any investment in airlines in a strategy to increase its human capital. This will both attract industries and increase the sources of potential passengers for an airline.
Read more and access the report
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REPORT
Rapid Technological Development Enables Regional Electric Aviation Routes Within 5–10 Years
The project FAIR investigates regional electric aviation in the Kvarken region and has published a unique compilation of the electric aviation industry’s technological development. The report describes existing and future airplane models that are powered by batteries or fuel cells, current regulations, and the need for a new airport infrastructure.
Read more and access the report Electric Aviation 2021 – Technology Overview
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REPORT
The future of electric aviation in the Kvarken region
The report, Electric regional aviation – a fast and clean transport mode for the needs of Kvarken region, from WSP has been published.
The goal of this report is to act as an information package of the possibilities and prerequisites of electric regional aviation. It is directed to national and regional decision makers and companies.
Read more and access the report Electric regional aviation
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RECORDINGS
FAIR competence network webinars
If you missed out, don’t worry! You will find the webinar recordings on flyfairkvarken.com (the projects pressroom / Event materials)
If you want invitations to webinars, email network@flyfairkvarken.com
The goal of the network workshops is to contribute to and further develop a Nordic competence network within electric aviation but also to raise knowledge of regional electric aviation.
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REPORT
Fair – Potential Impacts of Electric Aviation in the Kvarken Region
The objective of the survey was to provide a background understanding concerning stakeholders’ and experts’ views on the potential regional effects of electric aviation in the Kvarken region. The online survey targeted experts and various project stakeholders and was opened during 16.-30.11.2020.
Access the report
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Does Your Product or Company Have a Story That May Interest Others?
We are looking for tourism companies or tourism-related businesses that possess an interesting story, product story, some happy coincidence, legend and so on, or whose location may be historically interesting to others.
By participating in the StoryTagging project, you'll receive help with working on your company/product story and simultaneously the opportunity to increase its visibility both in the Kvarken region and internationally.
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Kvarkenrådet EGTS – För en levande region
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Merenkurkun neuvosto EAYY – Eloisan alueen puolesta
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Kvarken Council EGTC – For a vivid region
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The Kvarken Council EGTC is a neutral cooperation platform that enables all kinds of cross-border cooperation in the Kvarken region.
The Kvarken Council encompasses three Ostrobothnian counties in Finland and the County of Västerbotten and the Municipality of Örnsköldsvik in Sweden. Together they form the Kvarken region. Our members consist of municipalities and regional councils from all over the region.
From an Association to a Stable Legal Entity
The Kvarken Council adopted its new organizational form at the turn of the year 2020–2021. The registered association’s dissolution meeting was held prior to the annual general meeting, and the Kvarken Council EGTC continues the work that has been going on for close to 50 years. Read about the Kvarken Council EGTC and its activities: kvarken.org
The Kvarken Council EGTC is one of the Nordic cross-border bodies which are funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Council of Ministers provides funding to the following border regions
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