RE:RE:Electric airplanes......Hybrids are going to come first . And as the technology improves, The power generated per kilogram with the present technology is way to low. There are many viable projects happening now through the hybrid technology which presently are designing much lighter electric motors to generate the power for non commercial size planes .
I think the bomber may be right for this since they concentrate on smaller aircraft and lighter weight with their blended wing design which is going forward.
Some say that these may become reality. The engines, generators and electrical storage I would thing is being developed by others. Most in Europe from what I can deduce.
flamingogold wrote: "Electric" technology is a stepping stone to something better. Anything that takes hours to charge is simply not viable for airlines that need to land and take off again within the hour. Maybe possible for private aviation but I believe something "instant" needs to be realized. I like hydrogen fuel-cell better, fast charging but it's all talk so far.
Biggest challenge with electric cars is not so much the range as is a lack of infrastructure. It will take more than a decade for governments just to get their act together for a citywide build-out. But, what about the hinterlands
Take cellular service as an example. It has been around for almost 40 years and service 2 hours outside of major cities is still sketchy, espcially data speeds. If ICE vehicles are mandated shuttered in the next 25 yrs, we are going to need a monumental rapid buildout in EV infrastructure. With the huge debts governments face around the globe, it's unlikely to happen as quickly as they think. It's mostly political talk and fossil fuels will be longer than governments hope for.
Acuras1 wrote: Even with all available knowledge today we can't yet get a 2 ton 5 passenger automobile to go 500 kms (under $150K anyway). Of course electric propulsion will eventually be viable but it's going to take decades to happen..
GLTA