Electric Aircraft
| Company | Aircraft | Pax | Range | Power | Battery | EIS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eviation | Alice | 9 | 2027 | |||
| Heart Aerospace | ES-30 | 30 | 200-800 km | 2028 | ||
| PYKA | P3 | 9 | 200 nm | 400 kW | 242 kWh | |
| VoltAero | Cassio 330 | 4 | 330 kW | 2022 | ||
| VoltAero | Cassio 480 | 6 | 480 kW | |||
| VoltAero | Cassio 600 | 10 | 600 kW |
For Pilot Training:
| Company | Aircraft | Seats | Certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipistrel | Velis ELectro | 2 | June 2020 |
| Bye Aerospace | eFlyer 2 | 2 | |
| Bye Aerospace | eFlyer 4 | 4 |
Companies
- magniX: https://www.magnix.aero/
- electric propulsion systems
- magni350: Max TO power 350 kW
- magni650: Max TO power 640 kW
- electric propulsion systems
- Eviation: https://www.eviation.co/
- Alice: coming in 2027, 9 PAX, using magniX engine; Cape Air ordered Eviation Alice.
- Heart Aerospace: https://heartaerospace.com/
- will deliver the first ES-19 electric airliner certified for commercial flight by 2026. The first-generation aircraft will have a maximum range of up to 400 km (250 miles) The ES-19 will be certified in Q3 2026, and entry into service later that same year. STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing): It is designed to operate from runways as short as 750m and will have steep approach capability.
- Diamond eDA40: 2024 https://www.diamondaircraft.com/en/service/electric-aircraft/
- PYKA: https://flypyka.com/
- P3: range 200 NM
- Bye Aerospace: https://byeaerospace.com/
- eFlyer 2: 2-seat trainer
- eFlyer 4: 4-seat
- eFlyer 800: 8-seat to 12-seat, 500 nm, max payload 1,540 lbs.
- VoltAero: https://www.voltaero.aero/en/
- French aviation startup; hybrid aircraft, 9 PAX Cassio
- Cassio testbed: a modified Cessna 337 Skymaster
- Ampaire Electric EEL
- hybrid, modified a Cessna 337 Skymaster (replace the rear piston engine with an electric motor)
- first flew on 6 June 2019
- Electric Aviation Group (EAG)
- Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft (HERA), 70+ seater aircraft to be in service by 2028
- ZeroAvia / HyFlyer Project: https://www.zeroavia.com/
- hydrogen fuel cells
- collaborating with Alaska Airlines on a 76 passenger plane: ZA2000 hydrogen-electric powertrain should boast 2,000-5,000 kW of power with a 500-mile range.
- orders from United and Alaska
- WRIGHT ELECTRIC: https://weflywright.com/
- w/ Easy jet
- vision: short flight to be zero-emissions within 20 years
- Zunum Aero: http://zunum.aero/
- w/ Boeing and jetBlue
- developing 6-to-12-seat hybrid regional aircraft.
- vision is to fly small airports to reduce gate-to-gate time.
- Pipistrel
- Velis ELectro:
- 2-seat trainer, a variant of Pipistrel Virus
- EASA type certified in June 2020
- MTOP 76 hp (58 kW)
- MTOW 600 kg
- payload 170 kg
- Alpha Electro:
- 2-seat trainer
- MTOW up to 550 kg
- payload 182 kg
- Velis ELectro:
- Electra: orders from Ravn (Alaska Airlines) https://www.electra.aero/
- Airbus' ZEROe cryogenic hydrogen fuel tanks are expected to be ready for demonstration in 2026.
Competitions
- Air Race E: https://airracee.com/
eVTOL
eVTOL: electric vertical take-off and landing, or "flying cars".
- Joby Aviation (JOBY): Joby is preparing to open a new factory in Ohio.
- Archer (ACHR): ACHR’s flying car has met all of the FAA’s safety requirements.
- orders from United Airlines. https://www.archer.com/
- Eve (EVEX): The company has already obtained 3,000 orders for its eVTOLs. Eve (NYSE:EVEX) is a subsidiary of Brazilian airplane maker Embraer (NYSE:ERJ).
- Tecnam P-VOLT
- Vertical: orders from American Airlines. https://vertical-aerospace.com/
Short-haul first
PYKA P3 has a range of 200 NM, Eviation Alice 440 NM. They are enough for some short-haul routes:
- LAX to SAN: 109 miles / 176 kilometers / 95 nautical miles
- SFO to Reno, NV (RNO) 192 miles / 309 kilometers / 167 nautical miles
- SFO to LAX: 337 miles / 543 kilometers / 293 nautical miles
Timeline
2023
- SEP 25, 2023. Joby Delivers First eVTOL Aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base Ahead of Schedule
- On 19 January 2023, ZeroAvia flew its Dornier 228 testbed during 10 minutes with one TPE331 turboprop replaced by a prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain in the cabin: two fuel cells and a lithium-ion battery for peak power, towards a certifiable configuration by 2025.
2021
- United agreed to purchase 200 of an electric-powered regional airliners under development by Swedish company Heart Aerospace, and an electric air taxi under development by US firm Archer Aviation.
- Pyka P3: https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/12/pyka-shows-off-its-new-electric-passenger-plane-the-p3
- https://simpleflying.com/the-faa-has-begun-to-recognize-electric-propulsion-during-certification/
2020
- Tecnam P-VOLT: https://www.tecnam.com/tecnam-p-volt-lifting-the-world-to-sustainable-energy/
- Pipistrel: Velis Electro became world’s first electric powered airplane to receive a Type Certificate from EASA; not yet certificated by FAA
- ZeroAvia: A modified Piper M-class flew 60 nm round trip in U.K.
- magniX: A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan with a 750-horsepower all-electric motor completed its maiden flight.
2019
- magniX: a modified Harbour Air DHC-2 Beaver with a 750-horsepower (560 kW) Magni500 propulsion system took the first flight
2018
- Pipistrel: Alpha Electro was approved for flight in Australia.
Discontinued Projects
- E-Fan X
- Airbus, RR, Siemens
- replace one of BAe 146's turbofan with an electric motor
- In April 2020, the programme was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.