Belongs to the Rolls-Royce company and will fly at over 480 km/h
The brand Rolls-Royce is known worldwide for the grandeur of its automobiles. Many royal houses, including the Spanish one, have one in their collections. From now on, the British car maker hopes to make a place for itself in the aviation industry as well with the construction of the “Spirit of Innovation,” the fastest electric airplane in the world.
This airplane is part of the ACCEL project, which owes its name to the Acceleration of the Electrification of Flights. Through this project, Rolls-Royce aims to promote the electrification of aviation and has involved many partners, including the electric motor maker YASA and the aviation company Electroflight.
The company has already passed the ground testing phase of the engine that will power it. All the technology has been tested on a large-scale replica of the airplane’s central core, which has been named ‘ionBird’, which includes an electric motor of 500 HP that will enable the airplane to exceed 480 km/h and thus claim the record for the fastest electric airplane in the world.
Rolls-Royce has also developed the electric technology that equips the airplane, the “ionBird” airframe. This airframe will serve to verify the full and complete integration of the propulsion system, as well as the airworthiness controls. The “Spirit of Innovation” will use three axial electric motors of just over 1000 horsepower to drive the central propeller. The idea behind this from the brand is to achieve lower revolutions per minute than in traditional airplanes to reduce driving noise. The energy is provided by a dense battery pack of 6000 compact cells that minimize weight and improve thermal protection. This battery pack would be capable of supplying the energy needs of 250 homes.
After the first real flight, the company is focusing its efforts on breaking the current world record for fully electric flight speed, planned for early 2021. At this event, the watch brand Bremont is expected to be present as the official timekeeper, a crucial role to be able to surpass this record.
RANGE SUFFICIENT TO MAKE THE LONDON-PARIS ROUTE
The range of this electric airplane prototype will be up to 320 kilometers per charge (equivalent to 750 kW), making it a good alternative for short-distance flights. However, Rolls-Royce has not specified the time for a full recharge.
The Rolls-Royce electric airplane aims to offer up to 90% energy efficiency and zero emissions. But the truth is that it is not the only one on the market; in fact, it is estimated that currently about 200 electric airplanes are in development. Will we see any of them this year?
