Rolls-Royce has decided that it wants to produce the fastest electric airplane in the sky. Furthermore, it’s beyond the concept or visualization phase. Rolls-Royce has tested the technology for this on what’s called an “ionBird,” which means “a full-scale replica of the plane’s core.”
Airbus wants to develop the “world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft,” but its timeline for doing so is “by 2035.”
Carbon Footprint Ltd. has launched a competition to encourage sustainable passenger flight. It has created the Freedom Flight Prize, a competition focused on crossing the Atlantic Ocean 100% powered by renewable energy — with seating for 100.
Pipistrel, a small electric aircraft company we’ve covered several times, has a small electric airplane called the Velis Electro. The Velis Electro got its “first type approval” from the EU aviation security authority and is ready for an adventure. It is going to fly more than 700 kilometers from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea.
Earlier this month, EAG, a UK-based engineering and development company, presented what appears to be the world’s first hybrid electric airplane for regional fleets. It’s called the HERA, and with its ultra-low operating cost, whisper-quiet running, and room for up to 70 commercial passengers, the new concept promises to reinvigorate the sustainable mass transportation market.
Aviation unites people, countries, society. Although I am not supporting that anyone flies at this time, I found some interesting information for those who must. CleanTechnica supports all those efforts to bring emission-free skies up to the standard being set by electric emission-free automobiles.
We’ve covered NASA’s development of a little electric airplane since 2016, when staff at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center took delivery of a modified Tecnam P2006T fuselage that would be used to build the X-57 (aka Maxwell).
Another maiden flight, this time of the “largest all-electric commercial aircraft,” gives hope and proof that zero-emission forms of transport are indeed possible in the skies.
Quantum Air announced plans to launch what it’s calling a world’s first — an air taxi service using a fleet of 26 all-electric flying taxis to shuttle passengers between major points in the greater Los Angeles area.
Wright Electric, the LA-based electric plane startup, has begun developing the propulsion system for the Wright 1, an electric 186-passenger commercial aircraft. The propulsion system will reportedly utilize 10-14 electric motors.
