The race for a truly efficient—and fast—electrically powered aircraft has a high-profile player. A team, led by Rolls-Royce, has developed an electric aircraft that they project will exceed 300 mph, and eventually be able to fly nonstop between London and Paris.
Tesla was able to demonstrate high performance electrically powered cars; Rolls-Royce is following a similar path to electrically powered high-performance aircraft.
Called the Accel—short for “Accelerating the Electrification of Flight”—the aircraft is primarily a demonstrator for the company’s engine development.
Lightweight/powerful electric engine systems, consisting of both the engine and the batteries, is critical to the success of any electrically powered aircraft, and it is the engine market that Rolls-Royce presumably has its eye on.