Commercial aviation is struggling to reduce its impact on the climate and is currently not on track to meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Sustainable aviation fuel is not being produced fast enough and there appear to be few alternatives to fuel-guzzling jet engines and turboprops on the horizon.
One problem is that electrification in aircraft is not as straightforward as in road vehicles. Furthermore, the consensus in the industry seems to be that battery technology needs to be further developed before electric passenger aircraft can become a reality.
Dutch startup Elysian, however, challenges this assumption with its plans for a fully electric regional jet, with a range of 805 kilometers and space for 90 passengers, that could reduce emissions by 90%. The company wants to have this plane flying commercially within ten years.
“Many experts say you need battery technology that goes beyond [anything that will be available until] “We’re looking at 2050 to get a reasonable range and payload,” said Reynard de Vries, Elysian’s director of design and engineering. “But the question we asked ourselves was, ‘How do I get the maximum range for the battery technology we already have?’ You can fly a lot further with battery-powered electric aircraft than most studies say — if you make the right choices.”
Unconventional design
The plane, called the E9X, exists only on paper for now — Elysian plans to build a scale model within two to three years and a full-scale prototype in 2030. But key design features are already known, and somewhat surprising. “You shouldn’t assume that an electric plane will look like the (most successful) planes of today,” de Vries says, adding that a common misconception is that electric planes are essentially electrified versions of the lightest regional turboprops.
That would, he said, limit the range too much, probably less than 60 miles. “What you really have to do is redesign it from scratch, starting with a blank sheet of paper. What you end up with is an aircraft that, in terms of weight ratios, looks much more like old fighter jets from the 1960s, for example. An aircraft with a very high percentage of batteries and a much lower percentage of structural weight. The result is an aircraft that is much bigger and heavier, but can fly much further than people previously thought.”
The E9X will have eight propeller engines and a wingspan of nearly 42 meters (138 feet) – larger than a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320, though both can carry more than twice as many passengers – and a thinner fuselage, which De Vries says improves both structural and aerodynamic properties.
This design is the result of a collaboration with Delft University of Technology, the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands, and its principles are explained in a scientific paper entitled “A new perspective on battery-electric aviation”, authored by De Vries and Rob Wolleswinkel, co-founder of Elysian.
A key principle is that the batteries are placed in the wings rather than in the fuselage. “That’s a crucial design choice,” says de Vries. “Batteries represent a significant portion of the weight of the aircraft, and what you want to do with weight is place it where the lift is generated.”
The battery technology will be similar to what is available now, plus whatever advances are made over the next four or five years, rather than a radical leap forward, de Vries said. “That opens up different scenarios,” he added. “The most conservative puts the usable range at 300 miles, but we believe a more realistic target, four years from now, is 500 miles.”
Ready in 45 minutes
Other notable design elements include the placement of the landing gear in the wings rather than the aircraft’s fuselage, wingtips that can be folded to save space, and a gas turbine-based “reserve power system” that can provide emergency power in the event of a diversion.
All in all, De Vries expects the aircraft’s climate impact to be 75% to 90% lower than that of current narrowbody jets, even taking into account the production of the batteries and the electricity needed to charge them.
The E9X is being designed to fit into existing airport infrastructure without the need for modifications or upgrades. However, turnaround time can be a challenge due to the need to charge the batteries, which takes longer than filling the tank with fuel. “Our target now is a maximum charge time of 45 minutes, which would mean a slightly longer turnaround time than what some airlines are used to, particularly the low-cost operators. But that is the upper limit: the average time will be around half an hour.”
There are ongoing discussions with airlines around the world, he adds, and the aircraft is likely to attract interest from regional and commuter airlines. According to de Vries, it could also benefit secondary airports that are currently underserved due to noise or emissions restrictions, or because it is not economical for airlines to serve them.
Finally, he believes the E9X will provide a quieter, more enjoyable flight experience for passengers, and he wants to solve one of today’s most pressing problems: the lack of luggage space in the cabin.
The electric age
Gökçin Çınar, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, is collaborating with De Vries on a forthcoming research paper on electric aircraft design, but has no financial interest in Elysian. He notes that the company is not necessarily introducing groundbreaking technologies, but rather reconfiguring existing technologies to redefine the aircraft’s operational paradigm.
“My research over the past decade has advocated designing electric aircraft with operational changes in mind — it would be unwise to adopt a new technology that follows outdated conventions,” Çınar says. “While there may be some inconveniences, the potential benefits are significant. Elysian’s approach is promising, but it is just one of many potential applications of electrification in aviation, each with unique operational strategies and technology integrations.”
Other companies are working on electric planes that they plan to enter service before the E9X. One is British-American ZeroAvia, which has successfully tested a 19-seater plane powered by two hydrogen-electric engines and aims to enter service in late 2025.
Israeli-founded Eviation has flight-tested its aircraft, called Alice, an all-electric nine-passenger commuter plane with a range of 250 nautical miles that the company plans to put into service in 2027.
Finally, Swedish manufacturer Heart Aerospace is working on a 30-passenger aircraft, the ES-30, which has a range of just 100 nautical miles in all-electric configuration, but more than 400 with a combination of electric and traditional turboprop engines. The company has only tested a scale model so far, but aims to put it into commercial service in 2028.
According to Gary Crichlow, an aviation analyst at the consulting firm AviationValues, Elysian faces a tough challenge. “There are more than 5,000 airplanes in service today in the E9X size category of 70 to 100 seats,” he says. “Our data shows that these airplanes can remain in service for decades. So it’s very difficult to overstate the entrenched advantage that the incumbent manufacturers have in this market segment.”
Any new technology, Crichlow explains, will need to make a compelling case against an installed, proven conventional fleet. Beyond the technology itself, the infrastructure challenge of providing a steady supply of aircraft, training and parts at scale, and a reliable network of charging facilities, will be enormous.
If Elysian can overcome the technology and infrastructure challenges, he adds, the company will face the commercial challenge of entering a highly competitive market. “A disruptor like Elysian would be welcome, but it’s an extremely tough mountain to climb, even for an established player, to produce and support a product that’s going to be commercially viable in the long term,” Crichlow says. “It’s going to require very deep pockets.”
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