When unveiling the aircraft last year, Heart Aerospace also announced that it secured investments from important partners: United Airlines Ventures (UAV), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which is Bill Gates’s investment vehicle, and Mesa Airlines.Īt the time, United and Mesa announced that they have placed an order for 100 ES-19 electric planes and that they had an option for 100 more. We reported on the Sweden-based startup last year when it made a splash by unveiling the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft meant for short flights. The ES-19 was meant to have up to 250 miles (400 km) of range, but the range is commercially viable for short-range flights with 19 passengers. Heart Aerospace is one of those startups. Several startups are working on viable electric aircraft, and some are starting to get the attention of major airlines. Heart Aerospaceīattery technology has improved enough that short-range commercial planes are starting to make sense. Wherever the electrons come from, our propulsion system will be able to use them to provide that power to the aircraft.Air Canada announced that it invested in Heart Aerospace, an electric airplane startup, and it is ordering 30 units of a new version of its first electric aircraft. "We don't know, and no one in the industry yet knows, which of the technologies will prevail," Ganzarski said. But until that happens, Magnix is working with multiple options. Hybrid aircraft could come sooner then and developing technologies like lithium sulfur batteries or hydrogen fuel cells may accelerate the timeline. "I've been convinced for some period of time that the future of transportation in general - and certainly aviation - is electrified," said Harbour Air CEO Greg McDougall just before the December flight.Īs for when we can see larger electric aircraft in the skies, Ganzarski said a zero-emissions plane capable of carrying 19 passengers is 10 years away and one carrying 100 passengers is about 30 to 40 years away. But even now Harbour Air is planning on retrofitting its entire fleet into "ePlanes" powered by Magnix's motors.īuilt by Israel-based, Eviation Aircraft, the Magnix-powered Alice is supposed to take its first electric flight this year. Only after winning that approval, which Ganzarski says should happen by the end of 2021, will a Magnix-power aircraft be able to carry passengers. (The company is also developing a 1,500-horsepower motor for larger aircraft yet to come.)Īmong other things, Magnix will have to prove to regulators that its motors are as safe as fuel-based engines and meet requirements that electric aircraft will always fly with enough reserve battery power (usually 30 minutes) to reach an airport in case of an emergency. that's your limit to how much battery you can put in." Flying into futureįollowing more test flights with the Beaver, the Caravan and other aircraft (the Eviation Alice, a nine-passenger commuter aircraft that's set to fly later this year, will use Magnix's 375-horsepower Magni250 motor), Ganzarski says his company's next step is to win FAA certification for its technology. "When you're retrofitting an aircraft, you're using the same weight the current aircraft has. ![]() "For aerospace, weight is critical because otherwise the airplane simply doesn't take off and perform," Ganzarski said. To that end, any battery Magnix's motor uses can't be heavier than the equivalent amount of fuel. An aircraft needs to get not only itself, its passengers and its cargo off the ground, it also needs to lift whatever powers it.
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