Electric Planes?
With the world slowly moving towards sustainable energy sources, it might make us wonder about the possibility of electric planes. Electric planes do exist. Many big and small aircraft companies are researching and testing the viability of these aircrafts. Some have already made prototypes which have worked successfully and some have even received certifications for their aircrafts.
Conventional aircrafts combust fossil fuels in their jet engines to provide the required thrust. These contribute towards 2.4% of the total CO2 emissions. Apart from CO2, Nitrogen Oxides and contrails too contribute towards climate change. These environmental effects vanish in electric planes as a propeller run by an electric motor is used instead of a combustion engine.
Electric motors and batteries are being used in most of the cases to run the propellers. Electric motors, unlike combustion engines, do not lose power at high altitudes(this is because at high altitudes the air gets thin and the supply of oxygen reduces which results in less power produced by the engine). These planes usually have multiple propellers on their wings so as to achieve a sufficient lift for the aircraft.
But the disadvantage of an electric powered motor is the battery. The traditional lithium ion batteries are much heavier and deliver less power than fossil fuels. Lithium ion batteries have an energy density of about 1 MJ/Kg whereas Jet fuels have an energy density of about 43 MJ/Kg. This problem of weight is significant in aviation as it impacts the range, the takeoff performance and the endurance of the flight. But the upside is that electric motors and batteries are more efficient compared to jet engines and with the development in battery technology we can expect an 800mi flight from an electric plane by 2030.
There are some prototypes of solar powered aircrafts. These usually have solar panels all over their body and provide energy for the electric motor. At high altitudes above the clouds, the solar energy can be harnessed, but again it can’t produce sufficient energy for heavy aircrafts so the aircraft’s build is quite light and it has large wings to reduce induced drag.
Electric planes are in the initial stages of their development. We could see electric planes in use in the near future for short range routes, but a high speed or a long range electric plane might take some time. With slowly the cars going all electric, it’s likely that at least the short range flights will go all electric. There is hope for development in this field with the Tesla CEO Elon Musk saying that he is eager to work on an electric VTOL(vertical takeoff and landing) jet.
So what do you think? Electric planes the next big thing or just a waste of time and energy?
