A team led by Rolls-Royce is developing an electric aircraft known as ACCEL, which is targeting a speed of 300 mph (480 kmh) in 2020.
Short for “Accelerating the Electrification of Flight”, ACCEL is seeking to become the fastest electric aircraft in history and is harnessing expertise from the world of Formula E to achieve this. The project, which also includes electric motor and controller manufacturer YASA and aviation start-up Electroflight, will be based out of a hangar at Gloucestershire airport. According to Rolls, the single-seater propeller aircraft will carry the most powerful battery ever flown and will have a range of 200 miles.
“This plane will be powered by a state-of-the-art electrical system and the most powerful battery ever built for flight,” said Matheu Parr, the ACCEL project lead for Rolls-Royce. “In the year ahead, we’re going to demonstrate its abilities in demanding test environments before going for gold in 2020 from a landing strip on the Welsh coastline.”
An all-electric powertrain will deliver a maximum output of 750 volts with over 90 per cent efficiency. The propeller will be driven by three high power density 750R electric motors designed and manufactured by YASA in the UK. Together they will provide more than 500 horsepower when ACCEL takes on the record run next year. Big data will also play a key role in safety and performance optimisation, with thousands of data points across the powertrain monitored in real time.
“We’re monitoring more than 20,000 data points per second, measuring battery voltage, temperature, and overall health of the powertrain, which is responsible for powering the propellers and generating thrust,” said Parr.
“We’ve already drawn a series of insights from the unique design and integration challenges. And we’re gaining the knowhow to not only pioneer the field of electric-powered, zero-emissions aviation – but to lead it.”
The current record for an all-electric plane stands at 210 mph, set by Siemens in 2017. As well as eclipsing this, the ACCEL team also has designs on the 343 mph reached by the Rolls-powered Supermarine S.6B in 1931, a performance that saw Britain win the prestigious Schneider Trophy that year. The S.6B seaplane would go on to inform the design for Supermarine’s Spitfire, one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of WWII.
The British government should invest heavily in this so we are World leaders in electric aeroplanes in the years ahead, we should also set up a British manufacturer of electric cars, busses, trucks, etc. and invest heavily in it.
As electric cars are now a reality, a new British manufacturer would definitely have to come up with an innovation that would knock Tesla and the other foreign-based multinationals into proverbial “cocked-hats”. Otherwise, they would be wasting their time. As the car giants in Japan and Europe are already forging ahead in automotive technologies, such as electric cars, new innovations in aerospace is the road British companies should follow.
No mention of endurance or battery mass?
Some significant investment in electrifying the rail network would be helpful as well. The present administration seems to have a mental block about this preferring untried exotics rather than conventional orthodox options. Lowering the cost of infrastructure supports using alternative materials and infrastructure modification linked to power supply contracts would seem sensible. Given the government wants to delete diesel traction options within two decades a rolling programme of wiring up could yield major benefits.
The future of mobility is electric, literally and figuratively. Thanks to Solar Impulse, we stand a good chance to fly clean and keep fossil fuels in the ground, where they belong.
Speaking of Formula E, here is their 2019 calendar, go and cheer them on:
https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/championship/race-calendar
Looks like an electric version of Nemesis NXT from John Sharp, usually flying at Reno National Air Races with a Lycoming engine.