Energy from non-renewable sources is limited, scarce, and expensive.
That's why electric cars have been booming the past few years, and will definitely be a HUGE part of our future!
But if you can build electric cars... What about electric planes?
Once a plane is built, gas is the most expensive component of air travel.
Commercial airplanes use up extremely large amounts of gas, which is not only expensive for the airline and ultimately the passengers, but also takes a toll on the environment.
Wright Electric is a 1-year old startup company that had exactly the same thoughts: they want to build an electric airplane which runs on batteries.
It's supposed to have seats for 150 passengers, and fly distances under 480 km (300 miles).
The ambitious concept was presented at this year's "Y Combinator's Demo Day", an event where startups can pitch their ideas to influential investors.
According to Wright Electric, they have plans to establish a flight route between London and Paris by 2027.
And this is more than just a crazy idea: Wright Electric has already teamed up with Easy Jet and the NASA to figure out the possibilities of electric planes.
“Our aero team has decades of experience in aircraft design, electric planes, and certification. Our battery team has decades of experience in battery design, battery manufacturing, and early stage startup R&D. This is just about the best group of people one could imagine embarking on a such a journey.”-Jeff Engler, Co-Founder of Wright Electric
The first prototype plane is called "The Wright One".
The company is unsure yet whether they'll make their planes fully electric or a hybrid - this depends on the future advancements of battery technology.
But either way, the consumption of fossil fuels would be decreased dramatically.
An average 10-hour long distance flight consumes about 50,000 liters of fuel - imagine replacing all of that with a battery!
Although the "Wright One" is built for short-haul trips only, it will still disrupt the Boeing 737 Market.
Short distance flights have a $26 billion market and make up 30% of all commercial flights!
For passengers, tickets would become much cheaper since there is no cost of fuel.
Also, the Wright One would be less noisy than regular planes, and since the battery can be charged externally the plane wouldn't have to sit on the tarmac while fueling up.
So there's definitely a large potential and many benefits!
Images: 1, 2, 3, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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