This talk is transcribed from Kevin Noertker’s talk on stage at Interactive 2026 and lightly edited for ease of reading.
It seems like just yesterday, I was flying along the shore of Maui. Below us was one of the most breathtaking landscapes on Earth: deep blue ocean stretched to the horizon. Dark lava rock lined the shore. Lush forests clung to steep cliffs with waterfalls spilling toward the sea. And off our wing, Haleakalā rose above the clouds.
It looked like any regional flight. But then, we did something unusual. Mid-flight, we shut off the combustion engine. Instantly, the cabin went quiet. The familiar rumble of an aircraft engine gave way to the soft, steady whir of electric propulsion. And in that moment, watching that landscape pass beneath us in near silence, I had a very clear thought: This is the inevitable future of aviation.
Aviation is one of the most extraordinary systems in the modern world. It moves more than a third of global trade by value. It links communities that would otherwise be isolated. It carries more than 4 billion people each year.
But aviation also carries a growing burden. Today, it accounts for roughly two and a half percent of global carbon emissions—on par with entire countries like Germany or Japan.
The challenge is that the industry cannot simply reinvent itself overnight. Aircraft are long-lived assets. Safety and reliability are non-negotiable. And airlines operate on razor thin margins. There are more than 100,000 aircraft already flying worldwide built around today’s infrastructure and economics.
So as we move toward broader industry change, we also need to stay grounded in near-term realities. If the path forward depends on waiting for entirely new systems, entirely new aircraft, and entirely new infrastructure, we may fail to lower emissions fast enough.
If the path forward depends on waiting for entirely new systems, entirely new aircraft, and entirely new infrastructure, we may fail to lower emissions fast enough.
At Ampaire, we took a more pragmatic view. How do we improve the airplanes the world already depends on? Our answer is simple: hybrid-electric engines. We integrate hybrid-electric engines into proven aircraft, upgrading them as onboard energy for big jets, and propulsion for smaller planes—cutting fuel burn, lowering emissions, and reducing noise.
What began as a co-designed project with Elemental and Ampaire in Maui, almost a decade ago, has now grown into a broader commercial pathway globally. Ampaire has now flown more than 35,000 miles—equivalent to more than once around the world—with a 100% safety record and world-leading regulatory progress.
What began as a co-designed project with Elemental and Ampaire in Maui, almost a decade ago, has now grown into a broader commercial pathway globally.
When we log miles, we learn. From that initial deployment in Maui, we saw how challenging airport charging infrastructure would be even with the utility, department of transportation, airline partners. The plane was still delivered to Hawai’i before the chargers arrived.
These on-the-ground lessons led us to redesign the system: an engine that charges itself. Now, we consistently demonstrate more than 50% fuel savings, while also self-charging the batteries in flight. When a drop-in solution cuts fuel burn that meaningfully, you don’t just reduce emissions, you improve route economics. And you make service more reliable for the communities that depend on it.
That’s especially true in places where aviation is not a luxury. It’s essential infrastructure.
This year, Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines invested in Ampaire. They join NASA, Department of Energy, and the Air Force as strategic partners in the growth of the company. It’s a reminder that nothing meaningful is built in isolation.
Nothing meaningful is built in isolation.
New industries take innovation, but they also take community, trust, persistence, and people willing to stay committed.
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