With electric cars becoming more popular in the fight to reduce CO2 emissions, the next transportation that looks to convert to electric is aeroplanes. The concept of eVTOL emerged in 2009 when NASA showed off its Puffin eVTOL showcasing its concept of a single-person eVTOL vehicle. Many manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing have been developing their eVTOL.

Lilium Jet

One of the leading manufacturers in eVTOL Lilium has developed the first electric vertical takes and landing jet. The jet is built with turbines that can swivel downwards to hover, land, and take off without a runway. The jet uses electric turbines instead of traditional propellers seen on many electric planes. The Lilium Jet is designed for short regional flights and can only seat seven passengers.

Boeing Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV)

The Boeing PAV is an electrically powered autonomous personal air vehicle with 8 lift rotors and a pusher propeller. The PAV has the capacity to carry 2 passengers.

Archer Midnight 

The Archer Midnight can carry up to four passengers and one pilot up to 60 miles at speeds up to 150 mph using current battery technologies. The aircraft has 12 electric propellers, 6 tilt propellers for forward and VTOL, and 6 fixed propellers for VTOL-only flight.

Overair Butterfly

The Overair Butterfly can carry up to five passengers with their luggage and pilot. The aircraft can cruise at 200mph with a range of 100 miles.  

Wisk Aero Air Taxi 

The Wisk Aero Air Taxi can carry its passengers up to 90 miles with a cruising speed of 130mph. The aircraft features 12 propellers, six of which can tilt to allow the aircraft to take off and land vertically.

Summary

Development in electric VTOL vehicles can pave the way for a greener future in the aeroplane industry which currently produces 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions yearly. Electric vehicles can also be less noisy than their combustion engine counterparts, reducing noise pollution in neighbourhoods close to airport flight paths. Like with all-electric vehicles in development, the biggest flaw is the range and charging time. The range will significantly impact the uptake of the air industry to transition to electric aircraft as combustion engines provide greater range.