Rolls-Royce confirms 1,000hp electric plane
British aviation firm is making a three-motor craft that'll be capable of a record-breaking 300mph and a 200-mile range
Unless you've a close ear to the aviation industry, it might be hard to fathom that in only a decade or two we could see electrified planes take to the skies for short haul flights. Using pure - or, more likely at first, hybrid-electric power - they're set to drastically reduce emissions, noise and ticket prices, once the cost of production comes down.
We'll all be familiar with the near identical shift to electrification that's already in full swing within the car industry, but for the air industry, ideas for commercial electric flight have barely left the test bed. So in order to demonstrate the validity of electric power in the skies and to show just how effective the tech already is, Rolls-Royce is developing a zero-emission aircraft to break the e-plane air speed record in 2020, as part of its 'Accelerating the Electrification of Flight' (aka Accel) programme.
The Gloucestershire aviation firm - which operates completely separately to the car firm that shares its name - will have to beat the 210mph record set by Siemens and its e-plane back in 2017. Rolls has confidently stated that it wants to "blow the doors off" that speed; engineers are said to be aiming for 343mph, which would match the speed of the Supermarine, a Rolls V12-powered seaplane that broke its class record in 1931.
Introducing ACCEL from Rolls-Royce on Vimeo.
Using a single-propeller 7.3-metre wide racing plane equipped with three e-motors supplied by YASA (a UK electric motor company), the one-seat craft will run at 750 volts and produce a combined 1,000hp. With power available from much lower rpm, the e-plane is said to be more stable than conventional craft, while also being much quieter.
As we know from electric cars, however, speed often comes to the detriment of range. The Rolls-Royce e-plane will need to use a large enough battery pack that's powerful enough to enable such pace, but one that's not so heavy it'll require immense amounts of energy to be flown - or cook itself under the strain. Rolls hasn't revealed exactly what type of battery tech it's developing ahead of the record run, but it does make mention of Formula E tech, suggesting lithium-ion could play a part. It says there will be 6,000 cells on board to provide a range of 200 miles between charges, with a targeted 90 per cent thermal efficiency.
"We're monitoring more than 20,000 data points per second, measuring battery voltage, temperature, and overall health of the powertrain, which is responsible for powering the propellers and generating thrust," said Matheu Parr, manager of the project. "We're gaining the knowhow to not only pioneer the field of electric-powered, zero-emissions aviation - but to lead it. At this point, our confidence is sky high."
Of course, this is a single-passenger plane, so we're still far away from the days of commercial e-planes. But a hybrid-jet? That doesn't seem so hard to imagine. And with backing from the UK government, added to the fact that Rolls-Royce is the world's second largest plane powerplant manufacturer, this project certainly appears to be on the up and up...
So many naysayers regarding electric power, but if this can push the boundaries of battery density, power management and efficiency then they should be applauded.
So many naysayers regarding electric power, but if this can push the boundaries of battery density, power management and efficiency then they should be applauded.
The government should invest heavily in and set up British manufacturers in this field (and also electric cars, vans, trucks, busses, motorcycles, etc.) so when they are commonplace we will be World leaders in this high tech industry of the future with big companies. It will also go in some way to making up for all the industries we have lost.
Project mangers who can't correctly count the number of propellers fitted to their plane, quoting thermal efficiency for a battery electric system, and suggesting that a "hybrid" system would be of some use in an aeroplane.
1/5 Pistonheads, see me after school for extra homework.......
;-)
No power loss at altitude, much higher reliability and much lower operating costs and maintenance.
This looks like a development project testbed more than anything.
Range was limited for sure but tech keeps moving forward and the same plane today
would fare much better. If you have ever been to an airport and seen the clouds of exhaust gas
on a hot day you can appreciate an all electric air fleet and the positive impact on air quality.
Yes the emissions get moved onto a different grid but strides in clean energy I feel will oneday
offset that. Keep up the good work in the UK!
holes like London.No power loss at altitude, much higher reliability and much lower operating costs and maintenance.
This looks like a development project testbed more than anything.
Flying is cheap per mile, normally cheaper than a train or even the marginal cost of car ownership. The infrastructure required for flying is simply the air between the two places you want to fly between.
Electric flight and initially some electric hybrid flight will bring the minimum practical range of travelling by air down.
This is a demonstration testbed, if it can take a record and generate some publicity all the better. However given the number of teams working on similar craft I would not rule out someone going faster sooner.
Oh wait, yes I do. Clicks
By 1931, it was the Supermarine S.6B, which did 407.5mph. The only other Supermarine record was the S.6 357.7mph, in 1929. Both were absolute records, too, not class records.
And since when was Rolls Royce a Gloucestershire firm?
Nice to see that PH is sticking to its usual 'infinite number of monkeys' approach to journalism. They just need a few more, and one day, one of them might get something right.
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