Picture this: a sleek, electric-powered aircraft zips quietly above a bustling city, dodging traffic jams and whisking passengers to their destinations in a fraction of the time a car would take. That’s the promise of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft or eVTOLs for short a technology that’s been buzzing in the aviation world for years now.
Airbus Helicopters has recently announced the suspension of its CityAirbus NextGen electric air taxi project, following the completion of its current test flight campaign. This strategic move, revealed after a thorough review at the end of 2024, highlights the challenges the manufacturer faces in bringing the four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to market.
The development and operation of electric aircraft is a complex process that depends on many factors. While the environmental promise of zero-emission flight is appealing, the practical challenges are significant. The costs of this type of aircraft can be considered in several main categories, ranging from research and development to certification processes. In this expanded exploration, we will delve deeper into these aspects, examining each component of cost, the challenges faced by the industry, and the potential benefits that could reshape the future of aviation.
The prospect of electric-powered aviation has drawn increasing interest in recent years, not only from the aerospace industry but also from climate-conscious travelers and innovators seeking greener solutions. As we look towards 2025, a realistic overview of what we can expect in this emerging field helps ground our hopes while providing insight into the technical advances and challenges still to be addressed.
The safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries could be significantly improved thanks to a new process that allows the production of large graphene current collectors. The breakthrough has been achieved by a team of Welsh-Chinese researchers.
Researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) in China have made significant progress in the development of the Organic Flow Battery (OAAB): the new device retains 99.95% of its capacity after 850 charging cycles. This breakthrough was achieved with naphthalene-based organic redox-active molecules (ORAMs), marking a major milestone in battery technology.