ELECTRIC AVIATION BUILT FOR THE REAL WORLD

Simon Bendrey: Electric aviation is possible today. "The seaplane is the platform that allows us to bring it into service using technology that already exists.”

In his recent interview, Simon explains why electric flight is not only technically achievable today, but commercially viable when paired with the right aircraft and the right mission.

A technology aligned with geography
Nearly 85–90% of the world’s population lives close to water. Yet many coastal and island communities remain difficult to connect efficiently using conventional aviation infrastructure. This is where seaplanes offer a unique advantage.

“Seaplanes have always been about connecting people across challenging geography,” Simon explains. “When you combine that mission with electric propulsion, the fit becomes very natural.”

The result is an aircraft concept that is not only environmentally compelling, but operationally practical, capable of serving real transport needs rather than niche demonstration routes.

Engineering driven by a real business case
While electric aviation has attracted enormous attention, many proposed aircraft concepts face significant economic challenges.

In particular, high-power vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft will require battery replacements at very short intervals. That replacement cost can outweigh the savings gained from eliminating fuel costs.

“Our focus has been different,” Simon says. “The project is technically exciting, but it also has to work commercially.”

Instead of designing around extreme power demand, the NOEMI aircraft is optimized for efficiency and range. Seaplane operations allow mission profiles that align closely with high-energy battery technology, similar to advanced automotive batteries already produced at scale.

This approach enables the use of battery cells that offer:

High energy density
Fast recharge capability
Long cycle life.

In other words, the aircraft does not depend on speculative future battery breakthroughs.

Safety through electric design
Electric propulsion also opens new possibilities in aircraft safety. Traditional fuel systems limit how propulsion redundancy can be implemented. Electric systems, by contrast, allow multiple independent propulsion channels and inherently redundant architectures.

“With electric aviation, we can design systems with single-fault tolerance in ways that are very difficult with conventional fuel engines,” Simon explains. “Multi-motor propulsion and distributed power systems allow us to demonstrate a higher level of safety.”

Rather than simply replacing fuel with batteries, electric aviation enables a fundamentally different approach to system design.

Ready now, not decades away
Perhaps the most important point Simon emphasizes is timing. Electric aviation does not need to wait for hypothetical technologies or battery cells that are still years from development.

“I think electric aviation is possible today,” he says. “The seaplane is the platform that allows us to bring it into service using technology that already exists.”

By aligning aircraft design with available battery technology and proven operational concepts, NOEMI aims to move electric flight from concept to deployment. Now.

Zero emissions. Practical operations. A clear commercial pathway.

For Simon and the engineering team, that combination is what makes the project compelling. Not just as an innovation, but as a real step forward for aviation.