The first generation of electric planes is here

The Ampaire 337 hybrid-electric 6 seater

From Grist, an interview with Kevin Noertker:

It’s no secret that the air travel industry has got some major problems. Aviation entrepreneur Kevin Noertker will be the first to admit that — and to list them for you. Flights are expensive, noisy, and disruptive, Noerkter says, and they pollute like nobody’s business, fueling climate change and poisoning fenceline communities. (Not-so-fun fact: The U.S. banned leaded street gasoline in 1996, but planes with piston engines are still burning the stuff.)

Some eco-conscious souls have quit air travel cold turkey, but Noertker says there’s another solution: Follow Elon Musk’s lead and replace jet fuel with batteries.

Noertker and his team at the Los Angeles-based startup Ampaire are developing first-generation electric aircraft — and they’re far from the only ones. Something on the order of 170 companies have joined what Noertker calls an electric aircraft “arms race.” Several made a splash at the Paris Air Show a couple weeks back. Others are already experiencing turbulence.

For Ampaire, the skies are looking pretty blue. The company recently had its first public test flight, putting the highest-capacity electric airplane ever in the air — a retrofitted, hybrid-electric, six-passenger Cessna. Shortly afterward, Ampaire landed an order for 50 of the planes from Personal Airline Exchange, a startup that bills itself as the Airbnb of private air travel (think Uberpool, only with airplanes). Noertker, Ampaire’s CEO and co-founder, who made Grist’s list of emerging green leaders this spring, told us a little bit about the journey.

Q. Have there been any moments where you thought, wow, this just might not work after all?

A. Oh, absolutely. The core underlying technology is there, but no one had ever built and flown an electric aircraft of this size. There are two very critical things: One is getting that weight and balance right. And then the other is getting the system integrated safely. Safety is absolutely at the core of everything aviation. If you’re not safe, you don’t get trusted, if you’re not trusted, you don’t sell. And worst case scenario, actually hurt people.

There was this existential question of, are retrofits of planes a viable path, instead of going after brand new planes from the get-go? There were times where we were looking at it — it just didn’t seem like we’d be able to have enough energy stored in the batteries to give you a long enough flight carrying enough people to make a meaningful product. And there were a few times where we really had to scratch our heads in order to make sure that we were designing the system and integrating it right.

Q. So how did you land on (excuse the pun) smaller, regional aircraft, instead of some other market?

A. We approached the airlines, we approached private pilots, we approached basically everybody who flies or might want to fly an airplane. We were looking at medical applications like air ambulances. We were considering vertical takeoff and landing, like urban, on-demand air taxis. We were talking to helicopter operators, and all these groups, trying to be like, who really needs this? Who has a problem that needs to be solved? Who has a business that needs an electric airplane?

A lot of these businesses could benefit from an electric airplane, but a lot of times the value proposition is just not fully closed yet, with existing regulations or technology or demands.

Q. When do you think larger-capacity, longer-distance planes will be in the game?

A. It depends on the specific plane type and what you’re expecting it to do. But you’re moving people, not planes, right? Well, the majority of people are flying 500 miles or less. So sure, we may not be able to fly over the ocean, but we’ll probably be able to get all people who are flying 500 miles or less on fully electric planes. Now, they may not be holding 250 people at a time. Maybe they’ll be 70- or 100-passenger planes. But it’ll serve the need. It’ll offset the emissions.

We may not have the big planes, but we will have the routes that move all the people. And that’s really what the game is.

[Read more here and here]

Long distance jets can be fuelled using carbon friendly jetfuel.  And eventually, SpaceX will have a working intercontinental suborbital shuttle which will be fuelled by green methane, which can be produced using hydrogen created by electrolysis using electricity generated from renewables.

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