Other renewables

VoltAir shows off electricity powered plane concept

The Paris Air Show is one of the largest aviation shows in the world. The VoltAir is going to be powered by a pair of li-ion batteries that are nestled below the nose of the plane. These batteries will, obviously, be significantly larger than the ones currently found in electric land and water vehicles. The power provided will then be sent to a set of co-axial, counter-rotating propellers that are located at the back of the plane.

Since the plane will not rely on a traditional combustion engine it is expected to be noticeably quieter than the current generation of planes, with the majority of the noise coming from the propellers. It also means that refueling is as simple as taking out one set of batteries and replacing them with a new pair.

Of course, the VoltAir’s future is not exactly written in stone. The technology that fuels the system relies heavily on the use of several High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) materials, which are only in the early stages of development. While at this point technology has been showing rapid improvements its use of this scale is by no means a sure thing. If it does work however the prospect of a low-emission flight would certainly be an attractive one, since currently flying on a plane is one of the least environmentally friendly methods of travel available.

www.physorg.com/