Sustainable Aviation Test Environment 2

Project dates: 1 August 2022 – 31 March 2025

About the project

Based at Kirkwall Airport in the Orkney Islands, the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE) is the UK’s first low-carbon aviation test centre embedded at a commercial airport.

SATE brings together an international consortium of industry partners, public sector bodies and academia who will work with a range of regional businesses and stakeholders to apply state-of-the-art aviation technology to deliver targeted economic growth.

SATE’s overarching objectives include:

• Demonstrating the next generation of air services.
• Ensuring airports operations are ready to support sustainable aviation requirements.
• Improving regional connectivity.
• Supporting Scottish Government’s ambition for a Highlands and Islands Net Zero Aviation region by 2040.

The project builds on previous work part funded by the Future Flight Challenge, including the demonstration of the first hybrid-electric flights in Scotland and trialling autonomous flights for delivering Royal Mail cargo between Kirkwall and North Ronaldsay.

Please Note: Funding available is the grant value awarded by Innovate UK.

Project Activities

SATE will now expand to create a UK Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Regional Aviation Systems, enabling pre-commercial demonstrations of novel aviation technologies with proven use cases to commercialise clean innovation in a real-world environment. Use cases will include:

• Scheduled airline routes.
• Offshore energy services.
• National Health Service activities.
• Island / remote region deliveries.
• Environmental survey and inspection.

Implementation of these will require advances in technology, regulation, and policy. These are reflected in the cross-cutting activities which include:

• Establishing a dedicated test environment airspace.
• Matchmaking technology to community and business needs.
• Accelerating technology innovation.
• Mapping out the future Highlands and Islands aviation system.

Benefits

The Sustainable Aviation Test Environment aims to stimulate inward investment and supply chain growth which is a key responsibility in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. It will also work to secure regulatory approvals including establishing a regional sandbox airspace, establishing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) hub-and-spoke delivery network, delivering a hydrogen-propelled regional-aircraft flight, and conducting an international demonstration flight to Norway.

To find out more about the project, please contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Knowledge Transfer Manager for Aviation.

Project Partners

• Highlands and Islands Airports
• Arcadis UK
• ARC Aerosystems
• Connected Places Catapult
• Cormorant SEAplanes
• European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC)
• Flare Bright
• HITRANS – Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership
• Hybrid Air Vehicles
• Loganair
• UHI – University of Highlands and Islands
• Windracers
• ZeroAvia