Airships have yet to reemerge as commercial transport, despite their numerous ecological, humanitarian, security, and business applications. A barrier for some business models is the regulation of lifting gasses. Regulations in many countries require airships to use helium to generate vertical movement, or lift. As supplies diminish, helium gas has become dramatically more expensive. When […]
The first two posts in this series have described airship markets in general, and intercontinental shipping, emphasizing the scale of the opportunity. With that in view, we have two key messages for potential investors in airship ventures. The first is that high returns will come not from building airships per se, but from staking claims […]
Post 1 in this series highlighted evidence that the world is on the verge of a giant airship renaissance. It stressed the wide range of market applications that make this an exciting investment opportunity. Here we drill down on intercontinental shipping where the potential demand is dramatic. An earlier post, “Airships in Intercontinental Shipping: The […]
After decades of disappointment, the freight and passenger airship industry may finally be approaching takeoff. At the time of writing, here is the latest news. Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), in Great Britain, has a buyer for its Airlander 10 hybrid airship. The Spanish airline Air Nostrum wants to buy ten of them. HAV built a prototype […]
Six thousand years man went on legs and wheels To two dimensions movement was confined Man strolled through shady woods and verdant fields While every ridge or hilltop made him blind To what’s beyond. For greater strength or speed Men tamed and bred the strong ox and swift horse. In haste, they galloped hard on […]
The forest industry is a cornerstone of the Canadian economy. In 2019, the forest sector employed over 200,000 workers and contributed about $23.7 billion to the nominal gross domestic product. The rich softwood forests of the Pacific coastal mountain region, which are about 23% of the Canadian forests, provide 40% of the jobs. The other […]
Canada has a significant and persistent shortage of housing in northern Indigenous communities. The problem is referenced in the 2019 Report by the United Nations Assembly General on Adequate Housing, which recommends that “States should, as a matter of priority, address the abhorrent housing conditions of Indigenous peoples”. The housing conditions included in the report […]
Canada is the second largest country by area, consisting of almost 10 million km2, and has the world’s longest coastline. The terrain challenges of the Arctic and Canadian Shield, combined with the vast distances make surface infrastructure very costly. Over 70% of Canada’s territory has neither rail, nor road access. This immense landmass and long […]
Over the past two decades, global known reserves of minerals have diminished while exploration activities have declined. The world is not running out of metals, but most of the easily accessible ore deposits are depleting. Mining companies are being forced to dig deeper, or develop new ore bodies in untouched frontier areas with limited access. […]
Airships are well-named from an economic perspective. The economics of a cargo airship are more similar to an ocean-going ship, than to any other mode of transport. Of course, they serve the opposite ends of the cargo spectrum. Ships specialize in relatively low value, bulk cargoes, while airships would serve higher-value, packaged goods, but the […]
