{"id":11346,"date":"2017-03-27T18:29:02","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T01:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11346"},"modified":"2017-03-27T18:29:02","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T01:29:02","slug":"paris-to-london-using-no-fossil-fuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/paris-to-london-using-no-fossil-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris to London Using No Fossil Fuels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeff Engler fired up a start-up, Wright Electric, about a year ago. \u00a0Last week, he presented at the Y Combinator Winter 2017 Demo Day \u2013 a semi-annual event where venture capitalists can meet the latest in venturesome mendicants.\u00a0 Tech Crunch describes the firm\u2019s goals<\/a>, which include electric flights between London and Paris on no fossil fuels \u2013 ambitious to say the least.<\/p>\n

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Jeff Engler presenting at the Computer History Museum showing what some publications call a “mockup” of his proposed airplane. it’s actually a rendering of ESAero’s similar design concept<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWright Electric wants to build the world\u2019s first electric airplane (at least the first 150 seat electric airliner). One of the main reasons airlines like Southwest can offer low fares is that they pre-purchase gas, but Wright sees an opportunity to make flights even cheaper by using electric planes instead. The company is targeting the 30 percent of all flights that are 300 miles or less, and is partnering with EasyJet to start. As technology improves, it believes its planes will be able to go after the $26 billion short-haul flight market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff has managed to attract a large number of contributors to his efforts since first announcing his intentions.\u00a0 Industry insiders, NASA specialists, and even Chip Yates have signed on to provide guidance and expertise for Jeff\u2019s agenda.\u00a0 The group went from initially testing a Piper Cherokee with a small electric motor on one wing to developing a nine-seat commuter concept, but has now settled on creating the short-range people hauler of the future.<\/p>\n

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Chip Yates with record-holding Long-ESA outside Computer History Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright Electric is onto something here.\u00a0 Jeff reports, in his March 12 blog<\/a>, \u201cGood news: we\u2019re excited to report we have a potential partnership with one airline. Also: a high-net-worth-individual wants our electric 150-seater as his fifth private jet. Woo hoo!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all very new and fragile, but it\u2019s like what startup guru Andy Swan says<\/a> about walking on ice: \u2018When it\u2019s slick, a tiny bit of momentum is all you need.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff sees an \u201cenormous market\u201d in the 150-seat airliner market. \u00a0He notes that in 2016, Boeing and Airbus sold 967 \u201cnarrow body\u201d 737s and A320s at about $90 million per airplane.\u00a0 That $87 billion annual market is enticing several manufacturers to look at electrifying it.\u00a0 Further, 30 percent of all narrow body flights are 300 miles or less, a \u201cdoable\u201d goal for even a large electric aircraft.\u00a0 That makes for a $26 billion market.<\/p>\n

As part of the doability function, Jeff divides matters into aerodynamic and battery compartments.\u00a0 He reports, \u201c<\/strong>We\u2019re not inventing new wings or fuselage formats. Our airframe is designed to comply with existing FAA regulations. The aero team has decades of experience at places like Boeing Phantom Works and Cessna. They\u2019ve received numerous grants from NASA focusing specifically on electric planes. If anyone can design a feasible plane, it\u2019s these folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

His battery strategy is flexible, to be able to respond to \u201cdifferent battery futures.\u201d\u00a0 If things stay at the plateau they on which they now reside, the team adopts a hybrid approach.\u00a0 \u201cIt still has great cost savings as compared to today\u2019s planes, and it doesn\u2019t require massive battery advances.\u201d\u00a0 If batteries become significantly better in the next decade, the fully-electric design will be able to take full advantage of that while offering \u201cfantastic cost savings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of how good batteries get, they would be in modules that could be swapped out while the airliner is on the ground unloading and reloading passengers and being readied for its next trip.<\/p>\n

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Aurora Flight Science’s D8 would be comparable competition to Wright Electric Aero’s design<\/p><\/div>\n

Several others in the aerospace industry \u2013 ranging from Airbus and Boeing to Empirical Systems Aerospace, Inc. (ESAero)<\/a> and Aurora Flight Sciences <\/a>are preparing similar design concepts, often backed by government or academic institutions.\u00a0 With such interest in a lucrative market, progress will be well funded, not always such a happy circumstance in the aerospace world. \u00a0Despite skepticism from many in the industry, Jeff reports interest from easyJet, a European low-cost carrier. \u00a0Eliminating fuel costs would make economical flights profitable, moving beyond merely plausible.<\/p>\n

We wish Jeff every bit of luck to accompany his uncanny ability to raise interest and cash.<\/p>\n