Why aren't we all flying in electric planes? 

What do you think of this cute little plane, and the future of planes like this?

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal

15 years ago in 2009 the Mitsubishi i-MiEV was released (which was also badge-ed as the Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-Zero). This car had a range of about 100 miles and was super small, but 15 years ago it was the pinnacle of EV technology. Now 15 years later the world of EV's is so extremely different. When you see how much EV's have changed in cars, you can see that the small little aircraft in this video is like the aviation version of the i-MiEV and in 15 years time it'll be a very different world. I'm sure Hydrogen will be used for anything big which goes long distance, but electric aircraft would definitely be suitable for those 100 seater aircraft that hop from one city to the next will be everywhere. This new technology advances very fast, we now have prototype cars from Polestar that can recharge (10-80%) in 10 minutes, and the best cars that are currently in mass production can do are the Kia's which can recharge (10-80%) in 18 minutes, the VW ID.7 isn't far behind with a recharge (10-80%) speed of 25 minutes. Certainly if future aircraft can recharge in 10 minutes then there is no point to swap-able batteries. Currently turn around times for jet aircraft now is about 25 minutes.

Battery technology is actually a rapidly evolving field, and while it's true there are limitations today, advancements are happening quickly. New materials and chemistries are being developed that promise increased energy density, meaning they could store more energy in the same size battery. This could significantly extend the range of electric planes.

Let's not underestimate the importance of the Pipistrel. Now there's a viable product with >100 orders, research money will follow. The path towards bigger & longer range eplanes has begun.

My understanding is that aviation batteries will require an energy density of 400kw per kg, but recent developments have batteries at 500 kw per kg. So we are already there, with higher density coming . So Not long before short haul flights use electric planes. Cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain as well

Trains, use trains when possible.

I love planes, but even clasic train is often better option. I much rather spend 12 hours (1500km) at night in a comfortable bed with a restaurant type of meal and a working / relaxing place, than an hour to the airport 2 hours at the airport 2 hours on the plane and an hour from the airport in a crowded busy and mostly unpleasent day envirament. Sleeping fast speed train would do the same for most world wide distances.

First certified electric planes flies in north eastern sweden. Seems cold isn't really a problem, if you take care for it.

The reporter is providing outdated information on the dangers of batteries. Fire is not an issue for the current LFP, sodium or Hydrogen/oxygen batteries. Only nickel based lithium-ion chemistry poses a risk in modern batteries.

High speed rail would get rid of the plane problem.

How the heck would hybrid planes make sense? It would fill the battery during regenerative breaking mid-flight? Or it would spend all electric power on the first 5 minutes and just be a heavier, less efficient combustion plane the rest of the way?

Biofuels are a false hope. There isn't enough land to grow crops for aviation fuel and feed people. Synthetic fuels would be a better option, but it's hard to see them scaling up to make a significant contribution.

The battery of that ultra light weighs maybe 25% of max takeoff weight. A bigger plane where 50% of the weight can be the battery could get a flight time of close to 2 hours, that would start to become really useful.

Electric short range sea planes make a lot of sense for people living in Alaska and much of Canada that doesn't have roads. Electricity can be produced with hydro, solar, wind or burning fuel (including wood) and lakes and bays are everywhere. These electric sea planes already exist.

A bit weird that the obvious work-around "flying (much) less" wasn't even mentioned.

I think it might work for really small scale applications but unless we can increase the power density of battery storage by several orders of magnitude or come up with a new way of storing a lot of power with a very very high power density, it will be nearly impossible to scale up.

planes should be only for oversea travels, focus on hyperspeed bullet trains for domestic travels, then there wouldn't be a need for electric planes and efficient for domestic travel would improve immensely

Two notes: 1. When using kerosine you can fill the tank as required. On a short flight, you tank less fuel, allowing you to take more passengers and cargo. 2. When burning fuel the aircraft gets lighter and more efficient. With batteries, you must carry the same weight during the entire flight. Another thing to note is that the oxygen needed to burn is free with kerosine. You don't have to carry it.

Love Aditi's presenting style. We really need to have shorter working weeks and more time for holidays so we can travel by methods other than planes. Fewer flights more free time

Currently, we can use in local airline. This will improve local economy.

Would a hybrid use electric on taxi & cruise only? Could there be more energy efficient procedures designed for them (power off descent into a final approach?)

Oversimplified solutions rarely work perfectly. Electric planes need an gasoline or jet APU in order to provide heating and extended range.

There were a number of technical inaccuracies in this video which is a shame as your channel is usually pretty good.

Hybrid aircraft is possible if you can place a turbine or a windmill in front of the propellers but birdstrikes can be a problem for this design.

Could a hybrid design work somehow? Using traditional fuel for when power's needed but battery power to cruise? Or could it be too heavy?

After hundreds of years of fossil fuel powered cars, electric cars have evolved to become a viable option now. Same way as battery technology improves, electric planes will become more and more viable. Global warming, heatwaves and sinking lands make it really important for us to support these new technologies

Well, at least they already figured out the e-helicopter

I think that for short-to-medium range flights, high speed and potentially even (although it is currently non-existent(?)) high speed sleeper trains could become the future-as they should; they're vastly more efficient. However, this means that the only obvious utility of battery or hybrid planes would have a better, and better-established competitor... It's all still quite up in the air

No mention of wireless Mid-air charging?

Probably fully electric for short trips but hybrid should work for longer distances.

Não se esqueçam de Santo Dumont, o brasileiro. Ele levantou voo sem nenhum impulso ou catapulta.

Thank you Santos Dumont 🇧🇷✈️

Need Sam from Wendover to weigh in.

4:15 - A Hona Civic’s range on a full tank is a little less than twice the range of a Chevy Bolt on a full battery. *_Very unlikely_* we’re talking about a factor of 17. That may not be too far off for the raw amount of energy stored in the Civic’s gas tank vs. in the Bolt’s battery, but an electric drive train is more than 3 times as efficient as a gasoline drive train.

Somebody finally mentioned the hybrid concept I have been talking about for a long time. Granted, I have been exploring idea mentally like getting into superconductors and trying to get those superconductors high temperature enough to be cooled with LNG, which then gets burned in the jet engine part of the hybrid aircraft was well as advanced batteries like LiS possibly tripling the energy density of the battery if a suitable configuration can be found that will last as LiS has not historically been known for longevity. Something else to consider is eFUEL. This is as in synthetically creating fuel with electricity. You keep using the hydrogen example, which has largely been reformed from fossil fuels, so nothing saved, but really eFUEL covers a more broad range such as methane, propane, and even liquid, gasoline like fuels at room pressure and room temperature. You may go well the easiest to do, hydrogen is super expensive to do from the eFUEL route today and if you look into these other fuels, it is even more expensive. Yes. eFUEL is just not that efficient to make. People are always working on more efficient ways to make eFUEL and there have been advances over time. I would venture to say this is where better nuclear reactor designs like coming up with a cost effective to mass produce Thorium Molten Salt reactor should be considered. If you can mass produce this type of reactor, which is inherently safe and needs far less material to be made safe than light water could ever dream of being, I mean we are comparing a modern fighter jet like the F-22 to a WWI era Sopwith Camel kind of deal here, we may be able to produce the electricity reliably and consistently round the clock to make eFUEL cheap. When eFUEL becomes cheap to make, you start looking into denser forms like methane, propane, and even this gasoline like stuff and especially want to try to make something more like kerosene so you can just stuff it into existing jets and call it a day. And for the environmental friendliness of eFUELs? With hydrogen, it just takes up too much space in the airliner, plus it is pretty easy to end up blowing away a whole airport in a mishap and surrounding city with big fires raging with toxic materials burning in the raging inferno, so it is actually pretty hard to justify this. With methane, it still takes up a lot of space, but you start getting into you could stick it into an attic tank in a large airliner as a cryogenic liquid that would normally have the attic space largely unused and then if you can mix it in with cooling superconductors for a hybrid electric plane, maybe it starts making some sort of sense. With propane, this starts getting to be a lot easier to handle as it turns into a liquid with a modest amount of pressure, takes up even less space, gravimetrically is more energetic than standard jet fuel, and at least the last major loss of containment I saw when a "bomb" train derailed, the propane found an ignition source before it could fully boil into a gas and mix with atmospheric oxygen, so it turned into a mostly harmless fireball with one complaint I came across of someone saying when their vehicle got licked by the fireball, their trailer caught fire. But the point is they could be close enough to catch fire without getting killed by a huge blast as there was no big blast. Granted, there was a huge mushroom cloud over the derailed bomb train, but that always happens when you have a lot of heat in one spot. It was just the flame progressed slowly enough to not make a big boom while the big booms are what normally do the most damage. Methane and especially hydrogen are far more prone to more rapidly mixing with atmospheric oxygen and so are far more likely to create a big boom once they find an ignition source. Getting into making eFUEL, you start with splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. With heavier eFUELs than hydrogen, you get into soaking up CO2. So say you pull the CO2 out of the atmosphere, you just put back what you take out when you burn the fuel. Then a normal product or bi-product of burning the fuel is water. So you put back what you started with and so have a circular cycle, no net emissions.

Good info..

It's a shame you didn't go to Pipistrel headquarters in Slovenia!

Thank you.

Could you do a video on silicon batteries?

Entire europe almost and all countries in asia with high speed rail can avoid air travel and cars . then we can use jet fuel engines for real must go air travel

Charging vs. 7:00 battery swapping

Whoa depressing title - I tend to think the Heart Aerospace etc goal of having ~50% weight batteries seems good PARTICULARLY if battery switching can happen…

"Why electric planes may never go big" are you sure about that? We don't need batteries to keep electric planes in the air! .

clearly DW has no idea on the progress CATL and BYD has been making. They have 500 WH/kg enough to make national flights a breeze with ultra fast quick charges and this isn't even the physical limitation. this video is years behind whats possible now so catch up.

Planes for distances up to 1000km will be electric in the future, there is no doubt about that. -aircraft sizing is not so clear, probably it will be smaller planes for 30 to 50 passengers, but that's not yet clear, we need to see how it is developing.

Zeppelins could be the future battery powered aircraft.

Swedish electricity is powered by hydro, nuclear and wind. In that order. Still very much low carbon tho

Electric Plane was a hothead concept sprunt out of Tesla fever but could have never worked out. But still, aviation accounts for only 5% of global emissions, even when 1.89 due to longer stratosphere stay, still is quite small compared to electricity generation CO2 emission, or automobiles. Take the low-hanging fruit first.

What a great video for now I see the future in small electric planes, like we have in Slovenia Pipistrel. Also hydrogen could be the solution for longer flight

Interesting that actual 1st Powered Flight was electric in 1883😎! (Like the French Electric Racecar of 1899 did over 45 km/hr!!) Most are stuck on Wright Bros. "1st Petrol Powered CONTROLable flight" (wing warping) which shows how Not the best long term use/design wins, but main success factor to mass produce was cost/ unit delivered...negating a quiet non polluting more relaxing form of transport. Quantity of profit won over comfort or Quality of 'seat-mile' traveled. (Similar to wealthy women preferred Electric 'Buggies' (mostly N.Y. taxi's ) like the Anderson Electric or Baker EV of 1890's+ v.s a smelly, stinky, & Very Noisy Petrol Car of early automobiles!)

Currently airlines already limiting the battery passengers can bring on board due to risk of explosions and fire hazards. Now they want the passengers to sit on top of the huge explosive and fire hazard? Lmao 🤣🤣🤣

You may guess what is the most efficient bio fuel? 😂😂😂

The great European and western countries along with Japan and others work towards advancements in technologies that help human civilization modernize.

Battery Planes 😂😂😂 go for Seaweed biofuels... And yeah it's scalable...😊

Love this woman’s energy

Currently, an EMP would only disable the aircraft's electrical systems, since the spark generated for the engine is produced by magnetos, which are basically magnets. If we move to the entirety of the propulsion system generated electrically, an EMP would cause the engine to stop functioning. Now, airplanes wouldn't just fall out of the sky, but they would turn into gliders with no way to continue to propel themselves. This, in my estimation is the largest oversight of the entire electric airplane argument.

First ‘cars’ were electric

Your comparison to car batteries with about 175 Wh/kG limps massively. CATL just went commercial with a battery with 500 Wh/kG. Considering as well the reserves a plane needs to have, that extends the range of the electrical plane possible to be built today already by a factor 3, or 200%, not yet taking into account future battery development. I agree that electrical flight will probably never go long distance, but by 2040 a lot longer ranges than today will be possible.

Company that made the pipistrel? Girl, pipistrel IS the company lmao

The word, sustainable, is usually just marketing jargon and often very overused. E planes are turbo props at best and are a much slower means of transportation compared to jet engines.

THIS is why hydrogen, e-fuels, and biofuels need serious investment and shouldn't just be labeled as a "fossil fuel industry scam." Batteries will never have the same energy density as hydrocarbon fuels. They're held back by their fundamental chemistry. And for many applications, energy density plays a major role in overall efficiency.

The gravity plane is a much better idea

The reporter/writter who wrote this script needs to do a better job at its research. I looked into the "first aircraft that ever flew" and in fact it didn't "flew" it floated, flying is an aerodynamic process that involves wind speed, lift and drag. Floating is a process that only involves buoyancy.

IF we can build POWER FULL LIGHTWEIGHT APU unit that power GENSET and it's FUELED wirh GREEN LIQUID FUEL. It could be big.

The reason why we aren't flying in battery powered airplanes is because of two things, weight and possibility of a battery fire.

Go Airship Or go Laminar Flow.

What about hydrogen and ammonia power?

Good luck

the only valid solution is have multiple solutions. Sadly all expensive and not enough willpower to for them. For example if you could use a train instead of an airplane with more room confort and less hassle to get on it will help a lot. Specially if the price is lower. I dont think however this will happen see US for example hardly any investment in quality rail roads and since there is a lot of tax brakes on flying its hard to compete with airplanes.

So, going to have LI ion battery fires in the air? Brilliant

250 miles? Why bother? Just drive

Biofuels are not a viable alternative to either fossil or electric fuel. They are too expensive and not scalable.

1:16 “Aviation makes up for around 3% of global emissions… by 2050 that number is projected to rise to over 8 times that”. That sounds scary, until you realise that the real world aviation emissions are not going to increase; rather, emissions from all other sources will reduce so that aviation takes up a larger piece of the pie. Too, these projections are based on the assumption that aviation’s emissions will stay static, but the fact is that aviation emissions have shown a dramatic decrease over the past few decades, and there’s no reason to believe that they won’t continue to do so in the near future - witness the new breed of engines that offer 15% greater fuel efficiency over the previous generation, and the push to introduce blended wing aircraft with hydrogen fuel in the near future.

Hydrogen can have bigger potential in avaition sector.

What happens if the battery in an electric plane bursts into flames?

🇪🇺🛩️⚡️👍

Use nuclear powered jets. Now call me a genius because i solved the energy efficiency problem 😜

😂😂😂😂😂

Synthetic fuels.

"Electric engines" … 🤣 (It's "motors" …)

So again, electrification is mathematically IMPOSSIBLE

There is nothing wrong with sustainable aviation fuel as long as it is not made from food crops or whole trees.

Electric planes this is funniest stuff ive read in 2024

And this is why humanity is doomed... I give us 20 years or so!

The only solution is flying much less. People need to start taking the climate emergency like it is an actual emergency.

We can’t even get EVs right. What makes you think we can get Electric Planes right. 😂 This is a joke.

Because EVs suck. Good luck putting an EV airplane fire out.

Another German propaganda anti-electrification video.

Good info..