Heart Aerospace (Gothenburg City) , a Swedish start-up, is hoping to certify its first type, 19-seater ES-19, by 2025, the manufacturer said on its website.

"Initially, our planes will offer point-to-point transportation between Scandinavian cities, before expanding operations to the rest of the world," the manufacturer said.

The company's target for the ES-19 is to achieve 400-kilometre range, allowing fur viable replacement of conventional small aircraft on regional routes. Flightglobal has reported that the Gothenburg-based manufacturer is subsequently planning to develop a type seating up to 48 passengers based on the same technology.

Representatives of SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup) and Widerøe (WF, Bodø) expressed general interest in the development. Heart Aerospace said it had signed Letters of Intent with three Scandinavian carriers covering 86 aircraft.

Heart Aerospace is backed by California's innovation fund Y Combinator. It has also received support from the Swedish government. Scandinavian countries are currently at the forefront of the drive to electrify aviation, with Sweden being the home of the "flygskam" or "flightshaming" eco-awareness movement and Norway aiming to fully electrify domestic air travel by 2040.