Elysian unveils fully electric 90-passenger plane

CNN — Commercial aviation is struggling to reduce its climate impact and it’s currently not on track to meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. “Many experts say you need battery technology beyond 2050 to get reasonable range and payload capability,” says Reynard de Vries, director of design and engineering at Elysian. “But the question we asked ourselves was, ‘how do I get the maximum range for the battery technology that we already have?’ One can fly much farther with battery-powered electric aircraft than what most studies claim — if you make the right choices.” Unconventional design The plane, called E9X, exists only on paper for now — Elysian plans to build a scale model within two to three years, and a full-scale prototype by 2030. The result is an aircraft that’s much larger and heavier, but can fly much farther than people previously thought.” The E9X will have eight propeller engines and a wingspan of almost 138 feet — larger than a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320, though both can carry more than double the passengers — as well as a thinner fuselage, which de Vries says improves both the structural and aerodynamic characteristics. “Batteries represent a significant chunk of the weight of the plane, and what you want to do with weight is put it where the lift is being generated.” The battery technology will be similar to what’s available today, plus whatever advancements will be made in the next four or five years, rather than a radical step up, according to de Vries.