Electric airplane start-up Eviation aims to enter service in 2021 after battery deal

Eviation Aircraft

15/02/2018 09:24

* South Korea's Kokam to supply batteries 
    * Demonstrator to make first flight by end of year -CEO 
    * Airbus, Boeing, Uber also examining electric technology 
 
    By Jamie Freed 
    SINGAPORE, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Electric airplane start-up 
Eviation Aircraft Ltd is aiming for its 9-seat commuter aircraft 
to be flying passengers by 2021 after signing up South Korea's 
Kokam as its battery supplier, the Israeli company's chief 
executive said on Thursday. 
    Venture capital-backed Eviation is one of a number of 
companies looking to develop small electric aircraft that would 
incur lower energy and operating costs, release less emissions 
and be quieter than their conventionally fuelled counterparts.  
    Airbus SE  AIR.PA , Boeing Co  BA.N  and Uber Technologies 
Inc  UBER.UL  are also investigating electric and hybrid 
aircraft technology. 
    Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay said his firm signed a deal with 
Kokam last week because, as a smaller supplier, Kokam was able 
to make batteries more specific to his company's needs.  
    "If I would go today to Samsung or Panasonic or LG Chem or 
Tesla for that matter and say I need a different cell size, they 
will probably laugh because the number of cells we are going to 
buy is not significant enough to start the design process," he 
told Reuters in a phone interview. 
    The battery will have 9,400 cells distributed throughout the 
aircraft including the ceiling, floor and wings, weighing 3.8 
tonnes, or 60 percent of the maximum takeoff weight. 
    Electric airplanes are reliant on improvements in battery 
technology, which is why smaller aircraft are likely to be 
electrified years before large commercial jets.  
    Batteries are heavy and store far less energy per kilogram 
than jet fuel, but the ratio is improving gradually each year, 
allowing electric cars and airplanes longer ranges than they had 
previously. 
    Eviation's "Alice" airplane is expected to have a range of 
up to 650 nautical miles (1200 kilometres), compared to 1000 
nautical miles for a similar-sized conventional Cessna Caravan. 
It will cost $2 million-plus, on par with the Cessna, but have 
far lower fuel and maintenance costs, Bar-Yohay said. 
    Eviation hopes to fly the Alice demonstrator for the first 
time by the end of the year, with the first public display at 
the Paris Airshow in mid-2019, he said. Moving to commercial 
production after that would require raising around $100 million 
of capital. 
    Given the advantages of going electric, major manufacturers 
are also investing in electric and hybrid aircraft technology.  
    Seattle-area startup Zunum Aero, backed by the venture 
capital arms of Boeing and JetBlue Airways Corp  JBLU.O , 
announced plans in October to bring a 12-seat hybrid-electric 
commuter aircraft to market by 2022.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1MG1HZ 
    Airbus is working on the CityAirbus concept, a 
four-passenger electric aircraft capable of vertical takeoffs 
and landings, with the first demonstrator flight expected later 
this year. Ride-hailing firm Uber is exploring a similar concept 
with Uber Elevate.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1HX5DG 
 
    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
Boeing-backed, hybrid-electric commuter plane to hit market in 
2022     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1MG1HZ 
Uber looks to soar with flying taxis by 2020     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1HX5DG 
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> 
 (Reporting by Jamie Freed 
Editing by Christopher Cushing) 
 ((Jamie.Freed@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6318 4789;)) 
 
Keywords: EVIATION AIRPLANE/