Hybrid airliners could come to dominate the skies
They use both orthodox engines and electric motors in an optimum mix
STEADY IMPROVEMENTS in battery technology, driven along by the electrification of road transport, are helping air taxis and other small electric aircraft get airborne. But even the best lithium-ion cells are still far from being able to power the workhorses of civil aviation: short-haul airliners carrying 150 or so passengers. An electric version would not be able to rise from the ground, because of the weight of the batteries required to drive its engines. Nevertheless, many aerospace experts continue to think that electric flight is the future, at least in hybrid form.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Hybrid vigour”
From the June 29th 2019 edition
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