Electric aircraft has 1050km range

Eviation Aircraft has announced its all-electric Alice aircraft with range of nearly 1050km.

It’s expected to revolutionise regional air travel.

The company showed a mock-up of Eviation Alice at the 2017 Paris Air Show, and at the recent Singapore Airshow promised first flights this year with commercialisation expected to start in 2019, InsideEVs reports.

Eviation has signed a more than US$1 million deal with South Korean battery manufacturer Kokam to provide 900kWh battery packs, highly energy dense at 260Wh/kg.

The Alice carries six to nine passengers and two crew. Its three 260kW electric motors can develop a 444km/h cruising speed.

Kokam’s battery solutions have been used in aerial, ground, surface, and underwater drone applications for military, commercial, and industrial purposes, but the Eviation deal marks the first time they will be used in manned aerial flights of regional commuter aircraft.

Next year, Eviation will certify and commercialise its all-electric Alice aircraft, while partnering with leading industry suppliers, including Kokam, to bring its prototypes to scale and to the market.

Today’s battery capabilities are both more compact and with higher energy density than earlier technology, already able to power flights of 800km or less, a distance encompassing half of the world’s 4.5 billion flights annually.