Technological, economic, and environmental prospects of all-electric aircraft

Abstract

Ever since the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight in 1903, commercial aircraft have relied on liquid hydrocarbon fuels. However, the need for greenhouse gas emission reductions along with recent progress in battery technology for automobiles has generated strong interest in electric propulsion in aviation. This work provides a first-order assessment of the energy, economic, and environmental implications of all-electric aircraft. We show that batteries with significantly higher specific energy and lower cost, coupled with further reductions of costs and CO2 intensity of electricity, are necessary for exploiting the full range of economic and environmental benefits provided by all-electric aircraft. A global fleet of all-electric aircraft serving all flights up to a 400-600 nmi (741-1,111 km) distance would demand an equivalent of 0.6-1.7% of worldwide electricity consumption in 2015. Whereas lifecycle CO2 emissions of all-electric aircraft depend on the power generation mix, all direct combustion emissions and thus direct air pollutants and direct non-CO2 warming impacts would be eliminated.

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ORCID for Antonio J. Torija: orcid.org/0000-0002-5915-3736

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