German regional airline start-up Evia Aero has agreed to buy 15 new Britten-Norman Islander aircraft that it intends to convert to run on hydrogen power. Under a letter of intent signed in early January, the nine-passenger twin turboprop aircraft are due to be delivered in 2027 and will then by converted using the fuel cell-based powertrain being developed in the UK by Cranfield Aerospace Solutions.

Bremen-based Evia Aero intends to use the Islanders to provide direct scheduled services connecting smaller communities across northern Europe as an alternative to long car or train journeys, or flights via busy hub airports. These could include such as Chemnitz in the Saxony region of Germany.

Under its 2022 agreement with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions covering the delivery of 10 conversion kits. It had aimed to have the aircraft in service in 2025 with a range of up to around 250 kilometers (136 nm).

Production plans at Britten-Norman were disrupted in early 2024 by financial challenges that led to the UK company being sold by administrators to private equity group 4D Capital Partners. In September 2023, Britten-Norman opened its manufacturing site at Bembridge in southern England after relocating production of the Islanders from Romania.

Prior to that move, Britten-Norman had not delivered a new-build Islander since November 2020 but the modernized Bembridge facility has capacity to produce up to 16 aircraft each year. The company said it aimed to achieve an annual output of 8 aircraft by the end of 2025. It also produces utility versions of the Islander, and a military version called the Defender 4000.

In 2022, Evia Aero signed a letter of intent of intent with Eviation for 25 of its all-electric Alice regional airliners. The U.S. manufacturer has been aiming to certify the nine-passenger model in time to start deliveries in 2027, but the current status of its agreement with Evia Aero is unconfirmed.

On January 14, Evia Aero also announced the appointment of Axel Trampnau, a former executive with Lufthansa and Germania, as its director of finance and controlling. As he moves to the airline’s operational management team, his place on its advisory board has been taken by Vanessa Haumberger, who is a managing partner with strategy and communications group Gauly, and a former executive with Munich Airport.