EADS Announces VoltAir Electric Airline Concept

June 27th, 2011 by Jo Borrás

Last week’s Paris Air Show highlighted a number of innovations in aviation, but none “electrified” show-goers like EADS’ VoltAir airliner concept. The VoltAir concept is aimed relatively near future, where this proposed all-electric airliner could be cleanly criss-crossing the globe by 2035.

The VoltAir planes will be powered by a pair of advanced li-ion batteries beneath the nose of the aircraft, which send power to a pair of co-axial, counter-rotating propellers shrouded at the rear of the aircraft. Taking current trends in aircraft design a step further than combustion engines are capable of taking them, the VoltAir is expected (like all EVs) to be incredibly quiet, as well.

In a bid to reduce weight, complexity, and turnaround time at airports, recharging of the twin li-ion battery packs is intended to be accomplished outside the aircraft in a process similar to Project Better Place‘s efforts in the automotive arena, such that: plane lands, spent batteries pulled out, fresh batteries put in, plane takes off again. Simple!

The VoltAir’s future is far from certain, since it relies heavily on High-temperature Superconducting (HTS) materials which — at just around 3 years old — are currently in the early (but rapid!) stages of their development.

Here’s hoping the tech behind the VoltAir takes off shortly, followed by low-emission future flights soon after.

Source: Gizmag

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Tags: aerospace, air, airline industry, airliner, airlines, airplane, Aviation, battery swap, clean air, EADS, Electricity, green airplane, jet, news, Paris, plane, Show, tech, travel

About the Author

Jo Borrás I've been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and write for a number of blogs in the Important Media network. You can find me on Twitter, Skype (jo.borras) or Google+.