Airbus SAS is looking to make its E-Fan 2.0 electric plane commercially available by 2017 as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional flying.
The electric aircraft was shown off at the annual Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K. on Friday, according to International Business Times. The Blagnac, France-based aircraft maker is also planning to release another electric plane called the E-Fan 4.0, which comes with four seats.
Hefty batteries are reportedly preventing the widespread use of electric planes, but Airbus still plans on using the E-Fan 2.0 to get involved in the pilot training market.
The E-Fan 2.0 has two seats, weighs 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) and comes with dual electric motors that drive two ducted fans, which have blades with adjustable pitches. The motors are also powered by 60kW of energy. In addition, the plane includes a 120-cell lithium polymer battery that enables it to fly for one hour, and comes with a reserve battery that lets it fly for an extra 15 minutes. The battery doesn't need a cooling system, instead relying on air to keep itself from overheating when discharging power, CNET reported.
Airbus aims to use electric planes to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from conventional planes while also providing a quieter alternative to flying. The aircraft maker argues that noise is a problem for people living at airports as well as in regular neighborhoods, and that airlines could schedule more flights by flying quieter planes during hours when they're prohibited from sending out conventional planes. The European Commission also looks to use its Flightpath 2050 plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from aircrafts by 75 percent from 2000 levels.
The company added they were able to increase the thrust and decrease the noise from the fans by mounting them inside ducts, CNET reported. A powered drive wheel is also used to bring noise down by silently increasing the plane's speed up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour).
Airbus is looking to build 100 E-Fan test aircraft so it can obtain more data on the capabilities of electric planes.
