At this week’s Auto Shanghai, CATL announced a new battery technology that it says offers sufficient energy density to enable the electrification of passenger aircraft. CATL says its new condensed battery will offer specific energy (energy stored per unit of weight) of up to 500 Wh/kg, as well as “a high level of safety,” and… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "electric aircraft"
Archer and United Airlines hope to establish electric air taxi route in Chicago
Electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation has partnered with United Airlines to establish a point-to-point route between O’Hare International Airport (ORD), United’s largest operations hub, and Vertiport Chicago. Service is slated to begin in 2025. Archer’s future plans call for airport-to-city-center trunk routes to be followed by branch routes connecting to surrounding communities. Vertiport… Read more »
Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in electric motor manufacturer H3X
Lockheed Martin Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in Denver-based electric motor manufacturer H3X Technologies to accelerate technology development and commercialization of H3X’s HPDM family of integrated motor drives and the scale-up of its new headquarters facility in Louisville, Colorado, for production. This latest funding by Lockheed Martin brings the total raised by H3X to… Read more »
Airbus chooses Nidec Leroy-Somer to create electric motors for its hydrogen fuel cell engine
Airbus hopes to launch a zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. French electric motor maker Nidec Leroy-Somer will create an electric motor for its hydrogen fuel cell engine prototype. Airbus will test its fuel cell engine prototypes on ground benches. After certification and validation, in-flight testing will continue. “We have been selected by Airbus to provide… Read more »
Microchip introduces hybrid power drive module for electric aviation applications
US integrated circuit manufacturer Microchip Technology has announced its new comprehensive three-phase hybrid power drive module, which is the first of 12 variants in the company’s product line with either silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors or insulated-gate bipolar transistors. Microchip says its new module helps meet the needs of electric aircraft designers who are looking… Read more »
Archer and United Airlines announce first US commercial electric air taxi route
Archer Aviation and United Airlines have announced their first airport-to-city-center route using Archer’s electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). The Downtown Manhattan Heliport is the first planned takeoff and landing site for the route between New York City and United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). Archer says it plans to launch an… Read more »
5 electric vehicle trends seen in 2022
Sponsored by Parker LordJust over a decade ago, a report by IDTechEx predicted 1.5 million battery-electric vehicle (EV) sales by the start of 2021—a prediction seen by many as overly optimistic. Yet, it turned out to be a significant underestimate by more than half. And there is no sign of EV sales slowing in 2022. In fact, Bloomberg… Read more »
Air Canada to buy 30 electric planes from Heart Aerospace
Air Canada has announced plans to buy its first electric airplanes—an order of 30 battery-electric regional aircraft from Heart Aerospace. The airline has also acquired a $5-million equity stake in the Sweden-based manufacturer. Heart’s ES-30 aircraft is currently under development, and is expected to enter service in 2028. It can carry 30 passengers seated three… Read more »
Archer Aviation receives $10 million from United Airlines for 100 eVTOL aircraft
Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) has received a $10-million pre-delivery payment from United Airlines for 100 of the company’s initial production electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This represents a deposit on aircraft which United agreed to purchase in 2021. Archer is developing eVTOL aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks. The company recently… Read more »
Ricardo and Pratt & Whitney to develop hybrid-electric aerospace technology
Global consulting firm Ricardo has signed a multi-year deal with Pratt & Whitney Canada, a manufacturer of aircraft engines. The Ricardo aerospace engineering team will support P&W in the development of hybrid-electric propulsion technologies for next-generation aircraft. The project is part of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s regional hybrid-electric flight demonstrator program. The company is targeting… Read more »