Health/Sci-TechLifestyleVOLUME 19 ISSUE # 11

Largest ever fully electric concept plane could take to the skies by 2033

A startup has unveiled its design for a fully electric passenger jet that can seat up to 90 passengers, with plans to launch it within the next 10 years.

The E9X concept, designed by the Dutch company Elysian, is a battery-powered plane that can fly up to 500 miles on a single charge based on a theoretical battery pack of 360 watt-hours per kilogram — the standard measure of battery density. By contrast, a Tesla battery has a density of between 272 and 296 Wh/kg according to Inside EVs. With future improvements, the startup hopes to boost the plane’s range up to 620 miles.

The design of the E9X, and the core technology that powers it, is based on a collaboration with researchers at the Delft University of Technology, which produced two papers in the journal American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The first paper focused on redefining assumptions around existing battery technology. Most literature suggests battery-electric aircraft are only feasible for shorter-range trips of up to 250 miles with up to 19 passengers on board. As a result, most real-world efforts have focused on designing regional or inter-city electric aircraft.

These widely used assumptions likely stem from much earlier expectations and technological constraints, Simay Akar, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers senior member and the CEO and founder of AK Energy Consulting told Live Science.

In the paper, the study authors suggest that advances in battery technology mean that larger aircraft can house denser batteries. Meeting the design specifications, however, can’t be done with commercially available technology; it “would depend on breakthroughs in battery energy density, weight, and efficiency to achieve such ambitious goals,” Akar said.

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