The electrification of aviation is a subject I follow closely, so my attention was caught by a company called Beta Technologies, who have managed to produce an aircraft, the CX300, which is exclusively battery powered and can carry up to five passengers around 620 kilometers.
In electric aviation, the problem is almost always the same: batteries can power an aircraft’s engines, but their weight severely restricts an aircraft’s range. Which is why most aeronautical engineers who have carried out a static analysis have given up on the subject, ignoring one of the basic rules of technology: that as it evolves it becomes cheaper and more efficient.
In fact, the electric aviation sector is entering what would have seemed science fiction just a few years ago. Beta Technologies’ CX300 is no mere prototype, it is now fully certified to fly and has already received orders from Air New Zealand, while other companies who understand the importance of decarbonizing air transportation. United Airlines and EasyJet have announced their first commercial routes using electric aircraft for 2026, while Denmark and Sweden are committing to decarbonizing all domestic flights.
As battery technology advances, we are seeing interest from more and more companies in a technology that makes more and more sense. For short-haul flights initially, but increasingly, for longer distances and carrying more passengers or cargo. In addition to recognition of the need for decarbonisation and offsetting carbon credits, along with public and political pressure, the golden age of tax-payer funded subsidies on jet fuel –which literally fueled the low-cost model, will make flying more expensive. Add in the greater simplicity and lower cost of maintaining battery powered planes, and the conditions are in place to make the decarbonization of air transport a reality. It won’t be tomorrow, but it will be sooner that we would have dared to think, even a few years ago.
In the end, it’s business as usual: static analyses of technology and the belief that some variables haven’t changed in decades are bad travelling companions for those who have to make decisions about using new technologies. Making absolute value judgments that ignore well-known trends with verifiable trajectories is a dangerous practice, and one we should warn our leaders about.
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This post was previously published on Enrique Dans’ blog.
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