“The ability to fly away to nearly anywhere in the world on holiday or on business within a day is cherished by many who are in the fortunate position to be able to do so. The prospect of electrification making a meaningful reduction in the environmental impact of aviation (which remains a blind spot for many politicians and citizens alike) is therefore a tantalising one.”

“In this report we make an attempt to evaluate the potential for electric aircraft to contribute to reductions in the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. Reliable global data is difficult to obtain, but the UK keeps particularly high quality records of air traffic movements. Using data covering the UK aviation industry we assess what level of performance electric aircraft would need to attain in order to have a meaningful impact on the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.”

Read the report: Electric dreams: the carbon mitigation potential of electric aviation in the UK air travel market, Fellow Travelers, December 2018. Image: NASA’s N3-X concept.