Cleaner Tech
It’s Boom Times for Startups Trying to Electrify Aviation
At least 60 companies are doing research and development on electric air travel, as part of a larger effort to decarbonize aviation. But major hurdles remain.
A Joby Aviation electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft during an event at Edwards Air Force Base in California in September.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Since the Wright brothers invented the airplane in 1903, one aspect of how we fly hasn’t changed. Evolving plane design and improved engines aside, almost all modern aircraft have one thing in common: They’re powered by combustible fuels.
That may be changing, though. Just as electric cars have started to revolutionize driving, a growing group of startups are now looking to electrify air transport.