The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft on Tuesday took its inaugural test flight, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and offering hope that airlines might one day end their polluting emissions.
“This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Seattle-based engineering firm magniX.
The company designed the airplane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air Seaplanes, which ferries 500,000 passengers per year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities.
Photo: Bloomberg
The technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines — not to mention zero emissions, Ganzarski said.
“This signifies the start of the electric aviation age,” he told reporters.
Civil aviation is among the fastest-growing sources of carbon emissions, as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to get off the ground.
At 285g of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometer traveled by each passenger, airline industry emissions far exceed those from all other modes of transport, European Environment Agency data showed.
The emissions contribute to global warming and climate change, which scientists have said will unleash ever harsher droughts, superstorms and sea-level rise.
The e-plane — a 62-year-old, six-passenger De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver seaplane retrofitted with an electric motor — was piloted by Harbour Air founder and CEO Greg McDougall.
“For me, that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids. I actually had to back off on the power,” he said.
McDougall took the airplane on a short loop along the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport in front of about 100 onlookers soon after sunrise.
The flight lasted less than 15 minutes, one journalist on the scene said.
“Our goal is to actually electrify the entire fleet. There’s no reason not to,” McDougall said.
On top of fuel efficiency, the company would save millions in maintenance costs, as electric motors require “drastically” less upkeep, he said.
However, Harbour Air will have to wait at least two years before it can begin electrifying its fleet of more than 40 seaplanes.
The e-plane has to be tested further to confirm it is reliable and safe. In addition, the electric motor must be approved and certified by regulators.
In Ottawa, Canadian Minister of Transport Marc Garneau told reporters ahead of the maiden flight that he had his “fingers crossed that the electric plane will work well.”
If it does, “it could set a trend for more environmentally friendly flying,” he said
Battery power is also an issue. An aircraft like the one flown on Tuesday could only fly about 160km on lithium battery power, Ganzarski said.
While that is not far, it is sufficient for the majority of short-haul flights run by Harbour Air.
“The range now is not where we’d love it to be, but it’s enough to start the revolution,” said Ganzarski, who predicts batteries and electric motors would eventually be developed to power longer flights.
While the world waits, he said that cheaper short-haul flights powered by electricity could transform the way people connect and where they work.
“If people are willing to drive an hour to work, why not fly 15 minutes to work?” he said.
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