Tecnam Aircraft has launched its P-Volt Transition Program, giving priority slots to P2012 Traveller owners for the P-Volt upgrade.

P-Volt is the next generation green aircraft based on the P2012 Traveller piston platform. It was introduced in late 2020 with a design leveraging Rolls-Royce's developing portfolio of complete electric propulsion systems for the advanced air mobility markets.

According to Tecnam's chief R&D and product development officer Fabio Russo, the company is committed to building real solutions and to a stable transition to the green future of aviation: “The green innovation is paramount and real innovation takes time. We see many businesses overpromising. This is not how we do things at Tecnam. The Transition Program is a real path where we have the P2012 Traveller already in service, which will make the transition to the P-Volt as smooth as possible, especially for those operators accustomed to flying with aircraft with 20 seats or more.”

P-Volt will host the same avionics suite and require similar training as its parent P2012 Traveller model. The key points of differentiation between the two models will be in the typical cruise speed and range, directly related to P-Volt's need to adapt to the state-of-art in battery technology.

Rolls-Royce Electrical customer director Matheu Parr says: “Rolls-Royce is entering new advanced air mobility markets to pioneer sustainable power, and as part of that mission we are developing a portfolio of all-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion solutions. Our energy storage systems (ESS) will enable the P-Volt to undertake zero emissions flights of 100nm this decade, and improve from this position as battery technology develops.”

“The battery industry is actively working on developing higher energy storage capability solutions and technology may advance faster. However, Tecnam and Rolls-Royce are focusing on solutions that are real, commercially viable and that can only improve with time,” adds Russo.

In keeping with this approach to product development, P-Volt's easy-to-swap battery design will enable operators to upgrade to the new battery solutions, increasing the aircraft performance over time.

Tecnam presented the green aircraft transition at this year's Dubai Air Show. Managing director Giovanni Pascale Langer remarks: “We are very proud to have partnered with Rolls-Royce for this landmark project. Our organisations share two key values: the pursuit of meaningful innovation and the pursuit of excellence. We are committed to building an uncompromising and sustainable path to green aviation.”

“The P2012 Traveller is the prime example of a tangible green transition programme,” adds Pascale Langer. “Those who own a P2012 today are already on their way to the green future.”