Why electric planes are almost impossible
Electric cars took decades to go mainstream — electric planes might take even longer. We flew in Beta Technologies' Alia CX300, one of the most promising electric aircraft in the world, to find out why battery-powered flight has stayed almost impossible for more than 50 years.
The aviation industry has burned through more than $20 billion with barely a working commercial product to show for it. Zunum Aero, Eviation, and Lilium all collapsed after raising serious money.
So how is Beta different, and when will the rest of us actually get to fly electric?
Electric cars took decades to go mainstream — electric planes might take even longer. We flew in Beta Technologies' Alia CX300, one of the most promising electric aircraft in the world, to find out why battery-powered flight has stayed almost impossible for more than 50 years.
The aviation industry has burned through more than $20 billion with barely a working commercial product to show for it. Zunum Aero, Eviation, and Lilium all collapsed after raising serious money.
So how is Beta different, and when will the rest of us actually get to fly electric?