Faradair is planning to develop and sell a hybrid-electric passenger plane, aimed at the regional aviation market. It would have up to 19 seats and would be propelled by a fan driven by an electric motor. The necessary electricity would be provided by a small gas turbine. In order to provide extra lift, and allow take-offs and landings from short runways, it would also have a triple level wing. This would give it a passing resemblance to a World War One fighter, despite having state-of-the-art aerodynamics. The company's chief executive, Neil Cloughley, argues that such a plane would have far fewer moving parts than a conventional propeller aircraft, making it cheaper to run. It would also be much quieter, and produce fewer emissions. "Why do we not use aeroplanes like we would a bus?" he asks. "The reason is cost of operation, primarily. Also if you start using lots of aeroplanes it creates a lot of noise, and of course we have now got into an age where sustainability really is a key part of our future. The Faradair design, he says, would allow short hops between cities such as London and Manchester for £25 each way - less than the cost of a rail ticket. In more remote or inaccessible regions, meanwhile, such planes could provide a transport lifeline from small airstrips, avoiding the need for major investments in road or rail lines. It plans to have the aircraft flying by 2025 with commercial use starting in 2027. Faradair is far from alone in seeing the potential of electric aviation, at a time when governments around the world are searching for ways to reduce carbon emissions. Nor is its project the most ambitious. California-based start-up Wright Electric, for example, plans to bring a fully-electric 100-seat aircraft into service by the middle of the decade. It would be based on the existing Bae146, with its four turbofan engines replaced by electric motors. The company, which has a partnership with Easyjet, says the aircraft would be used to carry out one-hour flights, allowing it to serve routes such as London-Paris, New York-Washington or Hong Kong-Taipei. "Just like the car industry started with hybrids as well. So that's something we're looking into." The main reason electrifying aircraft is so difficult is that even the best batteries contain far less energy per kilogram than traditional aviation fuels, making them much too heavy to power an airliner over long distances. "The specific energy of today's batteries is far from what you would need," explains Dr Andreas Strohmayer, head of the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Aircraft Design. The Institute has been researching the potential of electric and hybrid aviation since the mid-1990s, and first flew its own experimental two-seater electric plane, the e-Genius, more than a decade ago. "We build our own battery systems for our electric aircraft," he explains "We are getting in the region of 200 watt [hours] per kilogram, where we would need 1,000 or 1,500. So we are far from what we would need for a large aircraft." His view is that small, light electric aircraft, of up to six seats can be built with today's technology. He also believes it should be possible to build a larger commuter aircraft, with up to 19 seats while still relying purely on battery power, though it would be "at the edge of what is currently possible". https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62120130