Electric Aviation Market
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BACKPAGES ONE OF the most active areas There are electric aircraft made up by sprinklings of projects use that company’s Cora two- in the aerospace industry right planned for the business aviation across Asia-Pacifi c and South person air taxi to research safe now is the development of and general aviation markets, America. urban air mobility. electric aircraft. small commuter aircraft providing The quickening pace of The Roland Berger research There are no fewer than short to medium-haul services for development activities around says: “That urban air taxis and 170 di! erent electric aircraft regional airline requirements, and urban air mobility has been partly general aviation projects dominate development projects around the electric aircraft demonstrators due to the entry into the electric in fully electric propulsion remains world, according to a May 2019 from major aircraft manufacturers aviation area by some major unsurprising. Not only are smaller estimate by consultancy Roland designed to study and prove the aerospace original equipment developments easier to fund and Berger, which it says is an increase technologies of batteries and manufacturers. test, but current electrical systems of 50% since April 2018. The electrical power distribution In January 2019, for example, technology still favours lower consultancy says there could be systems. Boeing announced the successful power and shorter distance fl ights.” around 200 such projects by the According to the Roland Berger fi rst test fl ight of its autonomous There are grander plans, end of this year. research, air taxis account for more passenger air vehicle (PAV) though. The recent Paris Air Show Electric aircraft projects span than half of the 170 electric aircraft prototype developed by its Boeing turned out to be a focal point for various areas in the commercial development projects and regional NeXt division and Aurora Flight announcements in the electric aviation market. There are and commuter aircraft for around Sciences. The vertical take-o! aviation segment. Especially electrically powered unmanned a tenth. and landing PAV can carry two striking news was Rolls-Royce systems designed for urban air The consultancy identifi es passengers and has a range of up announcing it is to acquire the mobility, a catch-all term for the Europe and North America as to 50 miles (80km). electric and hybrid-electric growing ecosystem that includes key areas for electric aircraft Another electric aviation aerospace propulsion activities air taxis and cargo delivery drones development. Out of those 170 project in which Boeing is of Siemens, a deal expected to to transport passengers, goods and projects, it counts 72 in Europe and involved is a strategic partnership be completed later in 2019, to supplies around urban areas. 67 in North America, the remainder with Kitty Hawk Corporation to advance the development of Electric dreams Cora, designed and built by Kitty Hawk Corporation, is one of dozens of electric aircraft projects. Kitty Hawk Corporation via Boeing 94 | www.airinternational.com @ [email protected] BACKPAGES all-electric and hybrid electric the front engine replaced by and large commercial fl ight; this is Detailed safety cases, risk analyses propulsion solutions for aerospace. electric motors. The company not expected before 2030.” and testing regimes will need to be Rolls-Royce and Siemens have is planning a new-build aircraft, Starting with smaller hybrid developed (for example, around already been involved in the E-Fan the Cassio 2, based on the Cassio aircraft and then scaling the the health of batteries, the safety X demonstrator project with Airbus 1’s confi guration but using an technology up is the most of high-voltage cabling and power to showcase electric propulsion all-composite airframe and a fully obvious path forward for distribution systems) and protocols at the scale required to power hybrid engine. electric technologies agreed and implemented across regional aircraft. Separately, as reported in the Beyond battery technology the industry and proven to work. Paris also saw the Israeli July 2019 issue of AIR International, however, there are many other This area is especially crucial for company Eviation Aircraft show Airbus, Dahler and Safran also used practical issues facing electric the area of urban air mobility, if the a prototype of its Alice nine- Paris to announce the EcoPulse aircraft, whether the goal is vision developers like to portray seat commuter aircraft powered initiative to develop a hybrid engine introducing autonomous air taxis when they release CGI renderings by a hybrid electric engine and for testing on a TBM 700. or a larger commuter aircraft. of futuristic-looking autonomous announce the US regional airline It is, however, unlikely people What infrastructure adjustment or systems whizzing over cities Cape Air as the aircraft’s fi rst will be fl ying long distances on energy generation is required to delivering people and cargo, is to customer, although no details an electric aircraft any time soon. accommodate electric aircraft? become a reality. were released about the size of Energy density of battery systems What will be the model for It is clear all areas of the industry the order. is an issue. Roland Berger’s analysis organisations operating them? will have to work together to move Another start-up developer, notes: “A battery gravimetric How will developers and operators electric aircraft from curiosities to VoltAero, showed a mock-up of density of ~500Wh/kg would make money? platforms of relevance to daily life. a hybrid power module. VoltAero be required as a minimum for Regulations and certifi cation are Although this is a big task and will is planning to start fl ight testing viable aircraft that could one crucial pieces in the jigsaw. There inevitably take some time, it makes of a demonstrator called Cassio day be competitive with today’s will necessarily have to be a lot of electric aviation an interesting area 1, based on a Cessna 337, with propulsion systems for regional work into standards and operations. to watch. Mark Broadbent Electric dreams www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine www.airinternational.com | 95 BACKPAGES SINGLE-AISLE narrowbody service (with Arkia Israeli Airlines) to have ordered more examples of much faster growth within Asia airliners able to fl y long haul are cater for the transatlantic market. the furthest-fl ying single-aisles. Pacifi c in the low-cost long-haul not new. Boeing 757s have plied Single-aisle usage for long haul Jetstar Airways, its sister operation narrowbody segment. AirAsia routes across the North Atlantic is set to become more prevalent Jetstar Japan and the Japanese X may use A321LRs to replace for years, the big US network elsewhere. The CAPA Centre for LCC Peach have all committed to A330-300s on its thinner routes carriers American Airlines, Aviation consultancy says: “There acquiring A321LRs, each saying to North Asia, including Japan, Delta Air Lines and United are huge opportunities within the it will use the aircraft to serve as well as opening new routes to Airlines all using the type in the vast Asia Pacifi c region for LCCs new long-haul routes around north Asia, south Asia and Australia transatlantic market. [low-cost carriers] to utilise the southeast Asia. that would not be viable with The 757 fi ts nicely into these improved range of new generation One interesting player in this widebody aircraft.” airlines’ fl eets by o! ering a cost- narrowbody aircraft.” respect could be AirAsia. The Further spice to the long-haul e! ective way to serve so-called CAPA says although Asia-Pacifi c carrier’s AirAsia X unit already narrowbody mix has been provided ‘thin’ routes from major hubs to is a key region for LCCs, with fl ies long haul using A330s, by the A321XLR, launched by secondary destinations that don’t operators ranging in size from but in CAPA’s view: “There is Airbus in June 2019. This new have the passenger numbers to AirAsia, IndiGo, GoAir and VietJet nothing preventing AirAsia X A321neo variant boasts even justify putting a larger twin-aisle to smaller players such as 9 Air from supplementing its existing further range than the A321LR, widebody on them. and Spring Airlines in China, only widebody fl eet with narrowbody o! ering 4,700 nautical miles Other single-aisle jets used two LCCs in the region, IndiGo aircraft on long-haul routes (8,400km). on transatlantic routes are the and VietJet, currently use single- . AirAsia and AirAsia X are 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 (the latter aisles on routes beyond fi ve hours’ separate companies with until its grounding), with WestJet fl ight time. Operators fl ying long di! erent ownership groups and 737-800s used from Canada and haul in the region such as AirAsia, stock listings, but they share a Norwegian 737 MAX 8s used on Jetstar, Scoot and Cebu Pacifi c website, brand and distribution some routes to the United States. mainly use widebody twin-aisles network.” Norwegian has also ordered the like Airbus A330s and 787s for The consultancy added: “A A321LR, the long-range A321neo such routes instead. potential A321LR order from subvariant with 4,000 nautical This is set to change, however, AirAsia X would have signifi cant miles (7,408km) range that entered because more LCCs in the region strategic implications, leading to Flying further Flynas is among the launch customers for the A321XLR. Airbus 96 | www.airinternational.com @ [email protected] BACKPAGES In terms of the Asia-Pacifi c the carrier to grow its presence in China Southern market specifi cally, it was notable certain parts of its network. that both the Qantas Group Airbus is confi dent about the (parent company of Jetstar) and A321XLR’s prospects in this region; A350-900 Cebu Pacifi c were among launch it was noticeable on launching the customers for the A321XLR, variant the company specifi cally signing commitments for 36 and cited how several key routes in the ten examples respectively.