Rolls-Royce‘s all-electric plane, “Spirit of Innovation”, has completed its maiden voyage, with the 15-minute flight marking the beginning of an intensive flight-testing phase in which the company will be collecting valuable performance data on the aircraft’s electrical power and propulsion system.
The one-seat electric plane has, according to Rolls-Royce, the most power-dense battery pack every assembled for an aircraft. It features a 6,000-cell battery pack with a three-motor powertrain that currently delivers 400kW. Rolls-Royce said the aircraft will eventually achieve speeds of over 480km/h.
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Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East said: “The first flight of the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ is a great achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. We are focused on producing the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonise transport across air, land and sea, and capture the economic opportunity of the transition to net zero. This is not only about breaking a world record; the advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Urban Air Mobility market and can help make ‘jet zero’ a reality.”
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The first flight of Rolls-Royce’s revolutionary Spirit of Innovation aircraft signals a huge step forward in the global transition to cleaner forms of flight. This achievement, and the records we hope will follow, shows the UK remains right at the forefront of aerospace innovation.
“By backing projects like this one, the government is helping to drive forward the boundary pushing technologies that will leverage investment and unlock the cleaner, greener aircraft required to end our contribution to climate change.”
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The aircraft took off from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down site, which is managed by QinetiQ. The ACCEL program, short for ‘Accelerating the Electrification of Flight’ includes key partners YASA, the electric motor and controller manufacturer, and aviation start-up Electroflight. The ACCEL team have continued to innovate while adhering to the UK Government’s social distancing and other health guidelines.
Half of the project’s funding is provided by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK. In the run up to COP26, the ACCEL program is further evidence of the UK’s position at the forefront of the zero-emission aircraft revolution.
