Originally published at: https://avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-clears-heart-x1-for-flight-testing/
The full-scale electric demonstrator is undergoing final preparations for its first flight in upstate New York.
By 2030, it should be possible to get 500 miles with just battery electric. Beta already has a practical range of about 250 NM for their 6 person conventional take off plane and has demonstrated over 300 NM. Note that scaling favors longer range with larger aircraft. Samsung has announced a solid state lithium battery with 500 Whr/kg, fast charging and long life. This compares to the best current lithium ion batteries with about 260 to 280 Whr/kg. Also, Lyten, a US company, is producing lithium sulfur batteries that may have even higher energy density that are currently being used for long range drones. They also claim lower prices as they do not use nickel, manganese or cobalt but I have not seen data on charging rates or longevity.
I’d suggest the real number would be how many seat-miles the plane can produce a day, not what the range is. It might have a 500 mile range and b e able to carry 30 passengers that far, but if it can only do that once or twice a day, that’ll stack up poorly against JetA. Obviously reduced engine maintenance costs would move the need the other direction.
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