{"id":12645,"date":"2020-09-08T15:40:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T22:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=12645"},"modified":"2020-09-13T12:27:39","modified_gmt":"2020-09-13T19:27:39","slug":"us-department-energy-announces-funding-electric-aviation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/us-department-energy-announces-funding-electric-aviation\/","title":{"rendered":"US Department of Energy Announces Funding for Electric Aviation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s Entry comes from Great Britain, courtesy of Jenna Bose, a young writer eager to explore the burgeoning world of electric aviation.\u00a0 Your editor thinks you will find her outlook refreshing, open-minded and mind-opening.\u00a0 \u00a0We look forward to more of her contributions.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Electric Aviation Group’s HERA, an electric airliner for the future.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Image Credit: pikist.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Sustainability has been the driving factor behind most technological innovations, and aviation is no exception. A new report<\/a> by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) states that aircraft alone contribute at least 12 percent of the U. S. transportation emissions, which is currently at 1,091 million metric tons. Globally, the numbers aren\u2019t too inspiring, either. After all, the same EESI report informs that aviation was responsible for 2.4 percent of total carbon dioxide on the planet two years ago. Numbers are still being computed for 2019, but they don\u2019t look promising.<\/p>\n

The Solution? Electric Aircraft<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Fortunately, manufacturers around the world have made great strides to make aviation greener with reverberating success. Just this July, an electric aviation group in the UK went big by topping last year\u2019s design<\/a> with an even better machine: the Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft (HERA). Other countries like France and Slovenia are also making huge strides in electric aviation.<\/p>\n

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Zunum Aero’s regional electric airliners may be held up by Boeing’s financial difficulties<\/p><\/div>\n

As one of the leading aircraft manufacturers in the world, the US has produced promising machines, too. The Zunum Aero from 2017, the Bye Aerospace eFlyers from 2018, and last year\u2019s Ampaire are some of the country\u2019s top designs. But they were all funded by private companies and donors.<\/p>\n

However, local efforts for electric aviation could speed up as the federal government has expressed interest in pushing this innovation through. Last month, the Department of Energy announced that it would be releasing $33 million<\/a> to fund 17 different electric aviation projects. This move was made as part of their Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy\u2019s Aviation-class Synergistically Cooled Electric-motors with iNtegrated Drives (ASCEND) and\u00a0Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with Low Carbon and High Efficiency (REEACH) programs.<\/p>\n

\u200bASCEND and REEACH<\/strong><\/p>\n

ASCEND\u2019s goal is to create lightweight all-electric powertrains with advanced thermal management systems to<\/p>\n

enable net-zero carbon emissions for single-aisle passenger commercial aircraft. Meanwhile, REEACH\u2019s aim is to come up with cost-effective ways to power sub-systems for electric aircraft, without losing anything on the performance aspect. The $33 million will be split into $14.5 million for ASCEND (nine projects) and $18.5 million for REEACH (eight projects), respectively.<\/p>\n

Some of the projects associated with both include Texas A&M\u2019s Multi-Physical Co-Design of Next Generation Axial Motors for Aerospace Applications and Hyper Tech\u2019s Cryo Thermal Management of High-Power Density Motors and Drives. Electric aviation leaders like General Electric and Wright Electric are also receiving funds.<\/p>\n

The Future of Electric Aviation<\/strong><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just projects involved with ASCEND and REEACH that are seeing advancements this year. In 2018, Tesla and SpaceX announced that they were planning to develop an\u00a0electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft<\/a>, but never followed through on the announcement. The design for the aircraft involved a sophisticated power delivery system design,<\/a> with billions of transistors demanding an incredible power supply that Tesla was not equipped to develop.<\/p>\n

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Speculative, but coming from Elon Musk, possible. The Model V is a one-passenger electric eVTOL (electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) vehicle<\/p><\/div>\n

However, a few days ago, Elon Musk announced that he saw that batteries enabling his design\u00a0could come to market within \u201cthree to four years\u201d and that he was putting the project back in action.<\/p>\n

Air taxis may also become commonplace, as research is abundantly being pooled into this field as well. During last January\u2019s Consumer Electronics Show, Uber and Hyundai Motor revealed a concept electric aircraft that\u2019s able to fly on trips of up to 60 miles, with speeds at 180 miles\/hour. Boeing proclaimed last year that they were working with Porsche to create an urban electric flying vehicle<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

Overall, electric aviation is seeing more activity now than ever. Indeed, between national interest and advancements in technology, the future could be arriving no less than a decade later.<\/p>\n