Move Over, Jet Fuel: Electric Airplanes On the Rise

In an effort to reduce their environmental impact, airlines are considering a new type of everyday plane: a battery-powered electric aircraft.

“We must do everything we can to make future aviation environmentally sustainable,” writes Gökçin Çinar, an aerospace engineer at the University of Michigan.

Currently, in the United States, commercial flights are responsible for 3 to 4 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. United Airlines, Mesa Airlines, and Air Canada are only a few of the airlines that have recently ordered from the Sweden-based Heart Aerospace company which offers a small 30-passenger, electric aircraft. These electric aircraft are still in development for a myriad of reasons: as of now, they can only hold up to 30 passengers, can only travel about 124 miles on one charge, and have not yet passed through all the necessary regulatory hurdles needed before taking flight. However, larger electric planes are already in the works and should be available within the next decade, and a partial transition to these electric-based aircraft is certainly on the horizon.