Electric Planes Take Off
While summer is heating up the ground, a quiet revolution is unfolding in the skies as electric-powered planes set new records.
In early July, a two-seater plane called the E-Genius flew from Germany to Milan, successfully crossing the Alps for the first time. The pilot was so jazzed that he charged the plane’s batteries and flew back to Germany the same day.
The following week, the Cri-Cri, another small electric plane, set a record by crossing the English Channel from France for the first time during a round-trip flight. The Solar Impulse, a solar-powered electric plane, is in the middle of a round-the-world flight.
Slovenian aviation start-up Pipistrel, meanwhile, has built around 1,000 ultra-efficient lightweight electric aircraft, mostly for use in training pilots. The plane’s batteries recharge as it descends, similar to the way a Prius battery charges as the driver brakes. And the aircraft is eerily quiet: “It’s like flying behind a washing machine,” Pipistrel’s chief engineer, Tine Tomažič, told a reporter.
Major aviation companies such as Boeing, Airbus, and Raytheon are also developing battery-powered aircraft. Airbus, for instance, is working on an electric plane called the E-Fan, which the company is hoping to sell to recreational flyers by 2017. Within 20 years, Airbus is aiming to build an electric commuter plane.
While airplane emissions account for just about 2 percent of global greenhouse emissions, they’re growing rapidly, and the world’s major airlines have committed to a significant reduction in their carbon spew by 2050. That means replacing fossil fuels with biofuels and other low-emissions technologies, such as batteries
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A big obstacle to building a larger electric plane is the weight of the batteries, which currently limits an aircraft’s passenger capacity.
Len Schumann, an aircraft design researcher at the University of Stuttgart who managed the E-Genius project, said it’s too soon to say whether electric intercontinental air transport will be viable.
“We think the first successful electric aircraft will be from the commuter aircraft category, because you can fly passengers from or to an international airport cheaper and cleaner than conventional aircraft could do,” Schumann said.
He pointed out that electric-powered planes offer advantages beyond eliminating planet-warming fossil fuels, such as a dramatic reduction in noise: “Maybe some airport restrictions—for example, airport night closures—will disappear and airlines and airports could operate their objects more time each day.”
“To design, build, and certify complete new types of aircraft and complete new propulsion systems will cost a lot of money—and bigger airplanes need much more money than small ones,” Schumann added. “Today the pressure from the aircraft operators is not high enough. Everything is still working, gas is still affordable, and airport residents get new windows with noise insulation. It is not a matter of technical items—this will work.”
Related stories on TakePart:
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Original article from TakePart
