Brazilian aerospace company Embraer plans to launch its first all-electric prototype aircraft in 2020. Electric equipment manufacturer WEG will produce the demonstrator aircraft’s motor and controller at its headquarters in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. Parker Aerospace will supply the aircraft’s cooling system. The technology will be tested on the single-engine EMB-203 Ipanema. Source: Embraer via… Read more »
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Boeing completes test flight of autonomous electric passenger aircraft
Boeing has completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype in Manassas, Virginia. The PAV prototype completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing during the flight, which tested the vehicle’s autonomous functions and ground control systems. Future flights will test forward, wing-borne flight as well as the transition phase between vertical… Read more »
HES Energy Systems reveals plans for hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft
Hydrogen fuel cell provider HES Energy Systems has been developing hydrogen propulsion systems for small unmanned aircraft for 12 years. Now the company has announced plans to develop a regional hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft, Element One. HES aims to release a flying prototype before 2025. The aircraft is designed to carry four passengers, and will have… Read more »
Airbus and Siemens collaborate on hybrid electric propulsion systems for aircraft
Airbus Group and Siemens have launched a joint project to explore the electrification of aviation. The goal is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of various hybrid/electric aircraft propulsion systems by 2020. The two giant companies plan to develop prototypes for propulsion systems with power classes ranging from a few hundred kilowatts up to 10 or… Read more »
Japan’s NEDO chooses IHI to develop tech for aircraft electrification
Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has chosen engineering firm IHI Technology’s initiative to develop electric power control and thermal and air management system technology for the Next-Generation Aircraft Development Project under its Green Innovation Fund program. NEDO created the ¥2-trillion ($12.96-billion) Green Innovation Fund to invest in the energy and industrial… Read more »
Aciturri invests in Dovetail Electric Aviation
Spain-headquartered aeronautical component manufacturer Aciturri has committed to acquiring a stake in Australian electric aviation technology company Dovetail Electric Aviation. Aciturri will invest in the second tranche of Dovetail’s seed investment round, which has a total target of $7 million. The first tranche, which closed last year, included airlines Rex in Australia and Volotea and… Read more »
AutoFlight delivers first electric air taxi to customer in Japan
AutoFlight, an aviation firm with operations in Germany, China and the US, has delivered its first five-seater Prosperity electric aircraft to an unnamed aircraft operator in Japan. In February, AutoFlight made a demonstration flight between the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. AutoFlight’s Prosperity aircraft autonomously flew a 31-mile route across the Pearl River Delta… Read more »
Lilium orders 120 Star Charge chargers for electric aviation
Munich-headquartered Lilium, developer of an eVTOL jet, has partnered with Singapore-based charging infrastructure producer Star Charge to develop and provide charging systems for the Lilium Jet. The aircraft went into production in late 2023 following Design Organisation Approval by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is expected to enter service in 2026. Lilium… Read more »
Volocopter’s electric air taxi takes test flight in Tampa
German firm Volocopter is developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which it envisions using as air taxis, making short- to medium-range flights. The company recently tested a prototype aircraft at Tampa International Airport, and media and local pols were on hand for the event. The flight test campaign, which used a crewed Volocopter… Read more »
Archer Aviation and Abu Dhabi Investment aim to launch electric air taxi service in UAE
California-headquartered Archer Aviation, a designer and developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), an independent economic development agency of the UAE government, to jointly work toward commencing air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi in 2026. Archer’s goal is to replace… Read more »