Are Electric Planes Ready For Commercial Use?
Aug 15, 2023 7:00 am
Are Electric Planes Ready For Commercial Use?
2 min read
Airplanes account for 2.4% of the world’s carbon emissions, emitting 1 billion tons of CO2 per year. It is for this reason that the concept of electric planes was first introduced back in the 1970s, yet this concept is still not a reality in today’s commercial world. However, this decade, we are starting to see some breakthroughs. British start-up, Vertical Aerospace, has developed a battery powered plane that takes off vertically (like a helicopter) and flies horizontally (like a plane). It is called the VX4 Prototype, and has a top speed of 321,87 km/h. The company only has one test flight, yet has sold over 1 500 aircraft, with some going to Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines. The company aims to receive all necessary certifications by 2025 and to mass produce by the end of the decade.
According to Vertical Aerospace CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick, the cost per passenger mile of an electric turbine is about 80% lower than a jet turbine or kerosene based equivalent.
Israeli company, Eviation, recently completed its first flight using their electric plane ‘Alice’. Alice’s running costs are also a fraction of that of comparable light jets and high-end turboprops. Eviation says that Alice will have direct operating costs of $200 per flight hour, compared with $1 000 per flight hour for an equivalent fossil fuel plane. The passenger-less flight lasted 8 minutes and reached an altitude of 1 066,8 metres. Alice has a top speed of 481 km/h and can carry up to 9 passengers or 1 100kg of cargo. The company aims for a 30 minute charge time for a 1 hour flight. They are targeting 240-400 km flights for commercial and cargo use.
Right now, the only full-electric type certified aircraft is the two-seater Velis Electro. It is mostly used for pilot training and can carry a payload of 172 kg. It has a top speed of 181 km/h and can fly for 50 minutes on two fully charged batteries that will need another 2 hours to charge.
Current battery technology only allows for electric flight ranges of 321,87 km. Fitzpatrick has admitted that electric flights will not make it across the Atlantic on batteries alone, and that it would need a synthetic aviation fuel such as a hydrocarbon that can be manufactured using renewable electricity, water and CO2.
Safety regulations are also a major obstacle to the adoption of electric planes, mainly due to the lack of actual electric plane flights in the past.
More info: https://youtu.be/SIdc-BaD0T0
When do you think electric planes will become widely used commercially? Will you be among the first to take a flight in one or will you wait for its use to be proven over time? Share your thoughts by replying to this email!
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