JetBlue Invests In Electric Airplane Start-up

JetBlue has made an investment in Zunum Aero, a Kirkland, Washington, startup that hopes to have a hybrid electric airplane flying in about two years. It will be like “Tesla for the air,” says Bonny Simi, president of JetBlue Technology Ventures, but she declined to say how much of an investment her company has made. Boeing is also an investor in the company.

Ashish Kumar, a mechanical and aerospace engineer, founded Zunum in 2013. The company’s name is derived from “tzunuum,” a Mayan word for hummingbird. Kumar claims his company’s electric hybrid propulsion technology can drive down costs for airlines by up to 80% because it would allow airlines to use more short-haul routes of fewer than 1,000 miles. Using its electric airplanes, passengers could fly in and out of smaller airports instead of using the hub-and-spoke system in use today, which makes them connect via a large airport near a large city.

Short-haul flights are often expensive because airlines carry fewer passengers to these destinations and have to charge more to cover the costs of operating a flight with fewer passengers. For instance, a roundtrip ticket for a flight from Mobile to Atlanta, a distance of 660 miles, costs $239. A roundtrip ticket for the 1,780-mile flight between Atlanta and New York City is only $160. Lowering the cost of flights could create a more affordable transportation option for those living in rural communities. Donald Trump has proposed slashing government subsidies for rural airports, which could force some to close, cutting off rural inhabitants from access to air travel. Zunum pulls toward a different trend.

Zunum expects its planes to carry about 50 passengers using electricity from batteries mounted in the wings. Kumar expects the first prototype of his electric airplane to be ready in about two years.

Progress is a curious thing. First we hear of an idea and think it’s crazy. An electric airplane? Yeah, as if. Then, suddenly, news of electric airplanes is everywhere. Just a few days ago, we reported on a British startup that plans to make an electric airplane that carries 100 passengers. It, too, is designed for short-haul flights and has attracted attention from industry giant Airbus.

The same thing happened with electric cars. In 2007, we all thought Elon Musk was some wild-eyed lunatic. Today, Tesla is worth more than Ford and nearly as much as General Motors. The odds are getting better that people will be flying in electric airplanes within the next 5 years or so. Amazing.

Source: Quartz

Wright Electric Planning Short Haul Electric Airplane Within Ten Years

Wright Electric, a start-up supported by Y Combinator, says it is working on building an electric airplane that can fly 150 passengers up to 300 miles. Its goal is to have the airplanes in the air within 10 years. It has already attracted interest from an established airline. EasyJet, a low cost British air travel company tells the BBC it “has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing an airline operator’s perspective on the development of this exciting technology.”

An electric airplane has several advantages over traditional aircraft. First and foremost, it doesn’t spew carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere while in flight. Second, it will be quieter than a conventional airplane. But we know in the era of Trumponmics that the only consideration is cost — the environment be damned. And that’s where the Wright Electric proposal really shines. The cost of electricity should be significantly less than the cost of jet fuel. That would allow the price of plane tickets to drop substantially.

With a range of 300 miles, the Wright Electric airplane would be capable of serving 30% of all commercial airline routes in the world. But where will it get the power to stay aloft and how long will it take to recharge the batteries after each flight? That part’s easy. The company says the batteries will be fitted to conventional airline shipping containers. They will be charged on the ground and simply swapped in and out as needed.

“The way we’ve designed our plane is to have modular battery packs for quick swap using the same cargo container that’s in a regular airplane,” says Jeff Engler, co-founder of Wright Electric. “We want it to be as fast as possible, so airlines can keep their planes in the air as long as possible and cover their costs.”

Some of this is wishful thinking at this point. It all depends on battery technology continuing to improve at its current rate. There are no batteries today that are small enough and powerful enough to keep such an electric airplane in the air long enough to be commercially viable. But Wright Electric is going ahead with the design of the aircraft while it waits for new developments to provide the batteries it will need. The company is working with Chip Yates, the American inventor who currently holds the record for the world’s fastest electric airplane.

Other companies are exploring electric aircraft including Airbus. Siemens is testing a new electric motor that is lighter and 5 times more powerful than normal. Is the era of electric flight upon us? Not quite yet, but it is coming. The electric airplane isn’t a reality yet, but the technology to make it happen is ready to go. All that remains is for battery technology to catch up. John Goodenough may have something to do with when that happens.

Source: BBC

Electric airplane sets ascent record with Siemens drive system

An electric-drive Extra 330LE aerobatics plane recently set a world record in ascent in the category of “Electric aircraft weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. The pilot reached an altitude of 3,000 meters in only four minutes and 22 seconds, beating the previous record by one minute and 10 seconds. The airplane rose into the air at 11.5 meters per second.

The plane is equipped with a SP260D electric drive system from Siemens that has a continuous power output of 260 kW, continuous torque of 1,000 N·m, weighs only 50 kg, and thus offers an excellent power-to-weight ratio. Pilot Walter Extra broke the previous record set by the American pilot William M. Yates in 2013. The World Air Sports Federation—Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)—recognized the record-breaking flight.

This is a milestone on the path to electrification in aviation. This enormous achievement was possible only with digital technologies that enabled us to push our drive train to its technological limits.

—Frank Anton, who heads eAircraft within Siemens’ next4 startup unit

The Extra 330LE, which weights approximately 1,000 kilograms, serves as a test vehicle for the new drive. Its first public flight was in July 2016. For Siemens AG eAircraft, this record is proof of the performance of the SP260D drive system and its efficient integration into the airplane built by Extra Aircraft OEM.

The Extra 330LE two-seater will be the test aircraft for the coming years, when the goal will be to analyze and further develop how the individual components of its propulsion system work together. Siemens will also bring the technology to its electric flight collaboration agreement with Airbus, which the two companies signed in April 2016. 

They want to prove the technical feasibility of hybrid electric drive systems for regional aircraft with up to 100 passengers by 2020. This will require power ratings of up to 10 MW.

The two partners plan to develop hybrid electric regional aircraft on the basis of the record-breaking motor.

We expect to see the first aircraft with up to 100 passengers and a range of approximately 1,000 kilometers by 2030

—Frank Anton

easyJet To Test Electric Aircraft Features

easyJet boasts low-carbon emissions

The European airline easyJet is set to testseveral progressive enviro-friendly features for installation on its aircraft. The proposed advancements center around creating fuel-efficient aircraft taxiing. easyJet plans on storinghydrogen fuel cells in the hold of the craft that are recharged by braking and electric wheel motors.

Airplane taxiing consumes approximately 4% of easyJet’s annual fuel expenditures because of the company’s high frequency and short lengths of operation. The plan is to use the energy stored in the rechargeable fuel cells during taxiing instead of using the jet engines.

Pilots would have complete control during taxiing. Speed, braking, and directions would be accessible via electronics and systems controllers. The system aims to eliminate the need for tugs to maneuver aircraft in and out of stands, resulting in more efficient turnaround times and more reliable on-time performances.

Interestingly, the waste product of the proposed system is fresh H²O, which could be used to refill the airplane’s water tank during flight.

Aircraft during taxiing operations

easyJet has set a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 7% by the year 2020. This follows up a 28% reduction over the last 15 years. When calculated, an easyJet passenger has a 22% lower carbon footprint than other airline passengers flying in the same type craft on the same route. The airline plans on receiving new jets as of 2017 that will be 13–15% more fuel efficient than the ones it’s using now.

In November of 2015, students at Cranfield University competed to develop ideas for what air travel could look like in 20 years. This was in collaboration with easyJet to celebrate the company’s 20thbirthday. The competition inspired the hybrid plane concept and the two parties have since signed a three-year partnership agreement to share innovation and knowledge.

Maybe we’ll see a bigger one of these in the not so distant future. Here’s to hoping the new systems take off.