Although technologies that will make electric planes possible exist for decades, they have not become widespread because they are not economically profitable. E-planes need heavy batteries to fly, so their costs increase. Because jet fuel of the same weight provides 43 times more energy compared to the battery of an e-plane. Therefore, e-planes cannot reach the same passenger / weight ratio as jet-fueled planes.
The e-aircraft named Alice, developed by the Eviation company, can carry about 6 tons of cargo with its 3-ton battery. Alice, which can carry 9 passengers and has a range of 1000 km, will start test flights this year.
The e-plane, which is targeted to be used in 2022, must pass the difficult permitting process in order to achieve this goal. The flight of these aircraft was temporarily banned in many countries as two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed in a row.
Obtaining the necessary permissions in a field where regulations are so severe is very costly and time consuming. Nevertheless, many companies strive to develop affordable and secure e-aircraft. Of course, the breakthrough in electric vehicles has accelerated the development of e-planes. Especially the development of light and high capacity batteries contributes to both areas.
