- Rolls-Royce is designing what it hopes to be the world's fastest all-electric airplane that can reach up to 300 mph: the ACCEL, short for "Accelerating the Electrification of Flight."
- The aircraft's battery has enough energy to power 250 homes or fly London to Paris, about 200 miles, with one charge.
- The plane is scheduled to take flight in Great Britain in spring of 2020.
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Rolls-Royce is designing what it hopes to be the world's fastest all-electric airplane that can reach up to 300 mph: the ACCEL, short for "Accelerating the Electrification of Flight."
The company is collaborating with the UK government, YASA, and Electroflight for the engineering feat. YASA is a UK-based manufacturer of "high-power, lightweight" electric motors and controllers for multiple applications, including cars and aerospace, while Electroflight is a startup focusing on bespoke electric powertrains.
"We're gaining the know-how to not only pioneer the field of electric-powered, zero-emissions aviation - but to lead it. At this point, our confidence is sky high," Rolls-Royce ACCEL Project Manager Matheu Parr said in a statement.
In order to follow the progress of the aircraft, its makers track 20,000 data points per second on the powertrain that provides energy to the propellers, all while monitoring the battery. The battery has 6,000 cells and a cooling system to meet the aircrafts demands while making it the "world's most energy dense flying battery park," according to Rolls-Royce. In short, it has enough energy to power 250 homes or fly London to Paris, about 200 miles, with one charge.
"We believe pure electric, or all-electric, propulsion will power smaller aircraft in the foreseeable future- while larger aircraft will rely on hybrid electric solutions that combine electrification with evolutions of the gas turbine," Rolls-Royce CTO Paul Stein said in a statement.
In a separate statement, UK Member of Parliament and Minister for Business and Industry Nadhim Zahawi said: "The electrification of flight has the potential to revolutionise the way we travel and transform aviation for decades to come - ensuring we can travel worldwide while maintaining a low carbon footprint."
Keep scrolling to see Rolls-Royce's progress on the aircraft: