{"id":168445,"date":"2025-01-21T13:31:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T04:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=168445&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2025-01-21T13:31:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T04:31:57","slug":"japans-first-electric-aircraft-cargo-trial-begins-kitakyushu-airport","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/japans-first-electric-aircraft-cargo-trial-begins-kitakyushu-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan&#8217;s First Electric Aircraft Cargo Trial Begins at Kitakyushu Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kitakyushu Airport is now the hub for Japan&#8217;s first trial of electric aircraft for cargo transport. On January 20, city officials, along with Sojitz, Yamato Holdings, and BETA Technologies, announced the start of the project. The trial involves an electric fixed-wing aircraft with a 15-meter wingspan flying between Kitakyushu and Miyazaki airports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The aircraft, which does not use jet fuel, emits significantly less CO2 compared to trucks, offering an eco-friendly logistics option. Fresh produce and other goods will be transported, with future plans to strengthen logistics networks to remote islands. The trial aims for practical implementation starting next year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the trial, the aircraft will fly approximately 280 kilometers over the sea in 1.5 to 2 hours. Its payload capacity is 560 kilograms, with a range of 400 kilometers. The project will evaluate operating costs, necessary charging infrastructure, aircraft performance, and airport cargo handling. BETA Technologies plans to produce the first mass-manufactured model this year, aiming for type certification by 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project partners envision using electric aircraft for commercial cargo operations connecting regional and remote areas by 2026. Yamato Holdings also plans to introduce cargo aircraft for long-distance shipping between major airports such as Kitakyushu and Haneda. <\/span><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sojitz.com\/jp\/news\/article\/20250120.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sojitz<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fnn_electric-aircraft_2025_cl.jpg?resize=1400%2C935&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Japan\u2019s First Electric Aircraft Cargo Trial Begins at Kitakyushu Airport\" width=\"1400\" height=\"935\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-168449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fnn_electric-aircraft_2025_cl.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fnn_electric-aircraft_2025_cl.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fnn_electric-aircraft_2025_cl.jpg?resize=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fnn_electric-aircraft_2025_cl.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &amp; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free weekly newsletter <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Now<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this <\/span><b>form<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kitakyushu Airport is now the hub for Japan&#8217;s first trial of electric aircraft for cargo transport. On January 20, city officials, along with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29305,"featured_media":168450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-168445","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-kitakyushu","news-category-general","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/168445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}