Electric Planes

Battery researchers recently published a paper on a new technology that could pave the way for electric aircraft in the not-too-distant future.

The new anode-free lithium-metal design achieved an energy density of 360 kilowatt-hours per kilogram and a volumetric energy density of 1,000 kilowatt-hours per liter. At these levels, the range of electric vehicles could be improved by up to 280 kilometers (175 miles). The new batteries could even enable electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for short urban helicopter runs. But they also estimated that it would only require about a 10 percent increase in energy density to make electric planes a reality.

For the moment, the bigger hurdle is to increase the useful life of the battery from the current 200 cycles to 800 or 1,000 that would be expected for commercialization. But developers are confident that will be achieved in roughly four to five years.