Elfly Group, the developer of the Noemi (No Emissions) all-electric seaplane programme, has moved into new facilities at Torp Sandefjord airport in southern Norway. The expanding company has taken 1,160sqm of office and workshop space in the airport's large 1,700sqm hangar, where it plans to build the first full-scale Noemi seaplane. Elfly's new home offers plenty of space to expand as its programme ramps up. Testing and validations will also be undertaken there.

Neighbours include the Norwegian Air Ambulance and its growing fleet of helicopter emergency medical H135 and H145 helicopters; several flying schools and training establishments, and regional airline Wideroe's Dash 8-Q400 maintenance facility.

Elfly is developing a full-scale prototype of its Noemi seaplane in collaboration with the Norwegian Government, with funding newly secured from Enova SF. Building is on schedule to commence this summer. In readiness, Elfly's team has swelled to 30 with senior engineers recently joining from Airbus, Pilatus Aircraft, HondaJet, Dornier Seawings and Heart Aerospace.

Torp airport, owned by the municipality of Sandefjord and Vestfold county, together with Vestfold Flyplassinvest, is the largest privately-owned airport in Norway, positioned 110km southwest of Oslo and with a full-scale NATO standard runway. It enjoys international and national scheduled air services from Wideroe, Ryanair, Air Baltic, Norwegian and Wizz Air, along with various charter flights.

"Torp airport is an excellent new location for us to build and engineer while we retain our business unit in Bergen," says founder and CEO Eric Lithun. "It affords us plenty of space to grow for testing and also as we ramp up our team this year. Moreover, the airport's dynamic management are very excited by our plans to return seaplane travel to the fjords and lakes of Norway and beyond, using electric power. Our goal is to fly the first Noemi prototype in 2026."

"We at Torp are thrilled by the news that Elfly has chosen our airport as its hub for developing next generation seaplanes," adds airport CEO Gisle Skansen. "Torp is encouraging Elfly in its efforts to introduce zero-emission aircraft, as electric planes undoubtedly will contribute towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly aviation. We look forward to following its progress very closely as a valued new tenant."