Taking zero emission aviation to UK Parliament

With both ELECTRON co-founders living in the UK, it felt natural to be invited to Parliament for “Great British Aviation: How can the UK lead the future of flight?” — a session focused on what a genuinely sustainable future of flying could look like, and what needs to change to make it happen.

We were the only aircraft OEM in the room. One thing stood out: there were no eVTOL companies present. That felt like a small but telling moment. If we’re serious about decarbonising flight at scale, fixed-wing aircraft will remain the backbone of mass transportation — and that’s where policy needs to focus.

We shared a straightforward message with MPs: Europe is already a global leader in aerospace, but the next wave of zero-emission innovation is coming from start-ups, not incumbents. A number of MPs were genuinely surprised to hear it has been more than 50 years since the UK last built an entire aircraft from scratch. That’s not nostalgia — it’s a reminder of what the UK can do again, if ambition is matched with enabling policy.

Two practical policy ideas we put on the table:

1.  Don’t ban flying — make the cleaner option the default
Set a clear direction by mandating zero-emission flying on suitable routes from the 2030s onwards, similar to the Scandinavian approach. It’s the difference between restricting demand and accelerating change.

2.   Don’t pick single winners — build an ecosystem
Stop trying to “back the one company.” Fund the whole industry: certification capability, supply chain, skills, infrastructure, and testbeds — more like the Dutch approach of growing sectors, not just writing cheques to individual start-ups.

If you’re a policymaker or stakeholder working on aviation, industry, or net zero, we’d love to compare notes. The opportunity is bigger than one aircraft — it’s about building a thriving UK and European zero-emission aviation industry.

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