For the most part the majority of consumer flights these days are done using planes that consume fuel. However according to a report from Reuters, it seems that both Airbus and Siemens have announced that they will be working together to create electrically-powered planes, with the goal being that by 2030, they will have built small planes that could be partially powered by electricity.This means that in the future, planes will no longer need to consume fuel and can be charged electrically. Both companies are hoping to demonstrate the feasibility of their project by 2020, and have since assembled a team of about 200 people to work on the project. Airbus and Siemens are definitely not the first to come up with such an idea.
Just a couple of months ago, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk expressed his desire to build an electric plane. The idea of such a plane has been stewing in his mind for quite a while, but Musk had stated that he hasn’t had the time to properly pursue it. Of course we reckon it might be a while before we start seeing commercial planes turn fully electric, but it definitely sounds like a step in the right direction as far as being environmentally-conscious is concerned.
According to Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders, “We believe that by 2030 passenger aircraft below 100 seats could be propelled by hybrid propulsion systems and we are determined to explore this possibility together with world-class partners like Siemens.”