Swedish builder plans to start using airships to transport houses and windmills.

Peab, Sweden's third-largest construction company, has initiated a pilot study to see if the world is ready for the comeback of the airships. According to the company, there are large savings to be made from shipping goods with the help of airships instead of trucks, trains and other means of transportation.

“You don’t need any infrastructure for the transports”, said Claes Dahlman who works with research and development at Peab, to the TT newswire. “You don’t need to reload and you can carry larger volumes”.

For example, pre-made houses could be flown directly from the factory to the residential area. But even more thrilling is the idea of transporting windmills to remote areas with the airships.

“Windmills are often built in rugged terrain. With airships you don’t have to build any roads to get there”, Claes Dahlman said to the newswire.

However, since the technical progress died of in the 1930s, it’s expensive to build new airships. The cost for a new airship is about 300 – 400 million kronor (€27-36 million, $38-50 million), according to the builder.

Aircraft maker Boeing has teamed with Canadian SkyHook International to combine a blimp and four helicopter rotors into a behemoth airship. It will be capable of hauling heavy drilling, mining and timber equipment into remote wilderness areas, Financial Times wrote. It’s set to be in commercial service by 2012.

Boeing’s airship will have a capacity to lift 150 tones. In the 1930s the airships could carry load as heavy as 100 tones.

The world’s first airship fit for use was constructed in 1900 by German general and later aircraft manufacturer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, founder of the Zeppelin Airship company.