Why Electric-Powered Airplanes Are Headed for Takeoff

In Sweden they call it flygskam, or flying shame -- the guilty feeling that you’re helping destroy the planet when you zip off to Spain for the weekend. Airlines and planemakers are acutely aware that one day they may face a backlash from climate-conscious customers, as well as tougher government regulations. That’s why they’re seeking ways to cut pollution and reduce their carbon footprint, including by developing electric and hybrid planes. There’s hope that some day electric technology can do for the skies what Toyota Motor Corp.’s groundbreaking Prius hybrid car did for the roads.

Yes, but they have to start small. Los Angeles-based startup Ampaire Inc. has taken an early lead by converting a six passenger Cessna 337 into a hybrid model with both a conventional combustion engine and an electric motor. Ampaire says the plane, dubbed the Electric EEL, could enter service by 2021 and cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 50%. Israeli rival Eviation Aircraft Ltd. displayed an all-electric nine-seat prototype at the Paris Air Show in June 2019 and is aiming for short-range commercial flights within three years. In all, says consultancy Roland Berger, there are about 100 different electric aviation programs under development around the world. But the bigger the plane, the higher the hurdles: Airbus SE has floated the possibility of introducing a hybrid version of its best-selling single-aisle A320, which seats up to 240 people -- but not before 2035.