This figure is consistent with the overall projection for population growth, which is a 1bn increase by 2030.
According to Ash Owen, the Chief Engineer of Civil Demonstrators at Rolls-Royce, the project – and electric aircraft generally – face one big problem: weight. He says that petrol-powered engines and gas turbines have outstanding power-to-weight output, whereas batteries, which don’t shed any weight as you use them, are simpler but also heavier.
While Owen feels assured that the ACCEL project will succeed, he sees that different parts of aviation will electrify in different ways.
“The technology roadmap we foresee is that all-electric aircraft are likely to be at the small end of the power range,” says Owen, “covering the small propeller and urban air mobility markets.”
Regional or city hopper passenger aviation could, in time, be electric or hybrid-electric as demonstrated by the Rolls-Royce E-Fan X partnership with Airbus – Owen’s other major project – which aims to mount a two megawatt electric motor to a BAE 146 regional jet, slated to fly in 2021.
And while long haul aviation will continue to be the preserve of the gas turbine, those engines will also benefit from ever more efficient and more electric designs – like the forthcoming UltraFan.
Both Parr and Owen believe the ACCEL project will help in the development of hybrid-electric aircraft, which will also shrink emissions from aviation. During the next months before the inaugural takeoff in the spring, there will be many updates on the ACCEL project – and the other electrification initiatives at Rolls-Royce.
"We’re gaining the know-how to not only pioneer the field of electric-powered, zero-emissions aviation – but to lead it. At this point, our confidence is sky high,” says Parr.
Stay tuned for more updates on the ACCEL project and the electrification of flight – including a video content series on the route to breaking a world record.