International test arena for zero- and low-carbon emission aircraft to be established in Norway

1 October 2024: Avinor and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have announced a co-operation to offer Norway’s extensive airport network and the Norwegian airspace as an international test arena for zero- and low-emission aircraft. The test arena will provide the market with a common point of contact in Avinor and CAA Norway, as well as a joint process from concept to test and demonstration flight. This includes infrastructure, airspace, energy and regulatory facilitation for national and international players who want to test and demonstrate zero- and low-emission aircraft in Norway.

The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate accelerated phase-in of zero and low emission aircraft by reducing barriers for testing and demonstration. Through the test arena we will gain knowledge, prepare the aviation ecosystem and provide a foundation for scaling new technologies. This will be a key measure for achieving the goal of fossil-free Norwegian aviation in 2050.

Interested producers and operators must be able to submit an operating concept and respond to predefined qualification criteria within the following main areas: climate and environment, innovation, maturity, execution and value creation. Initial dialogue with the market has already started.

The expression of interest must contain at least the following information:

• information about company, visions and plans;
• aircraft concept (capacity (PAX/cargo), energy carrier, range); and
• initial plan for testing and demonstration at the test arena.

The process to testing and demonstration is made up of five phases:

1. Initial dialogue, which, if successful, results in the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI)
2. Development of a high-level Concept of Operations (CONOPS)
3. Development of a detailed CONOPS, which, if successful, results in the signing of a binding agreement for the use of test arena
4. Preparative phase
5. Testing and demonstration

The test arena will, in principle, cover the entire Norwegian airport network and airspace. Specific geographical locations for the establishment of test operations will be decided in dialogue with market participants, based on their needs, as well as assessments of technological maturity and the availability of relevant energy.   

You can find additional information about the process towards testing and demonstration at the following link: Test Arena for Zero- and Low Emission Aviation - Avinor and the contact point for interested parties is testarena@avinor.no