The electrification of aviation has often been written off as a pipe dream, with batteries presumed too heavy a substitute for hydrocarbon fuel in an airborne vehicle. For longer journeys, such as Charles Lindbergh’s across the Atlantic, that may well be true. Yet upstarts like Volocopter are betting that electrification can unlock a boom in demand for clean and quick aerial journeys over shorter distances.
The main form of flying taxi under development, called an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, looks somewhat like a super-sized drone, carrying between one and four passengers, plus a pilot. Powered by batteries, they are both quiet enough to quell complaints in crowded cities, and fast: capable of up to 300kph, enough to comfortably outpace a car, especially one stuck in traffic.
Despite the enthusiasm, challenges remain. One is technical certification, which is turning out to be a lengthy process as aviation regulators grapple with an entirely new form of aircraft. Some manufacturers, such as Volocopter and EHang, a Chinese firm, are close to having machines in service. In April Volocopter opened an assembly plant in Germany. But others are further off.
An alternative opportunity for electrification lies with small fixed-wing planes designed to transport a few dozen passengers over distances of a few hundred kilometres—for instance, between nearby cities. Heart Aerospace, a Swedish firm, plans to have a 30-seater plane with an all-electric range of 200km in the air by 2028. In September last year Eviation, an Israeli company, successfully tested a nine-seater electric plane with a range of 400km.
According to McKinsey, a consultancy, air travel accounts for just 8% of journeys between 150km and 800km in America. In Europe it is only 4%. Most such journeys are taken by car, even in Europe, where buses and trains are more readily available. That creates a big opportunity for environmentally friendly short-haul flights, especially given that 90% of America’s population and 50% of Europe’s live within a 30-minute drive of a regional airport.