The alice e-cargo electric aircraft preps for takeoff

The concept of human flight was once an impossible dream, confined to the imaginations of inventors like the Wright brothers until their groundbreaking ideas literally took flight. Over a century later, air travel is more accessible than ever – and it’s an essential part of global economy. 

But aviation is also a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. A 2020 study by the consultancy company Roland Berger indicated that the aviation industry accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions. With demand set to increase for passenger and cargo flights, and as other industries reduce their carbon footprint, aviation could account for up to 24% of global emissions by 2050.

Aviation industry stakeholders are hard at work in reversing that trend but face a challenge that is unique to flying: the power requirements of flight are immense compared to other modes of transport, such as cars. Simply put, it’s much easier to replace a diesel car with an electric car than it is to replace an aircraft with an electric alternative. 

Luckily, some of the best and brightest minds in the aviation industry are hard at work tackling the problem. That includes the experts at Eviation Aircraft, who are developing the world’s first fully electric cargo plane. Like DHL, Eviation believes the skies are a necessary resource, but that it’s our responsibility to minimize our impact. Electric aircraft have arrived and will soon take our decarbonization journey to new heights. 

Eviation evolution

Located in the US state of Washington – home to another aviation pioneer called Boeing – Eviation has electric aircraft solutions that focus on changing the way people travel regionally through affordable, sustainable aviation.

The key word here is ‘regional.’ Eviation is not trying to develop massive electric aircraft like the Boeing 777 or the Airbus A350. Those planes – designed to fly lots of people or lots of cargo a very long distance – are likely several decades away from becoming fully electric, if it’s even feasible at all. The problem is that outfitting an electric cargo plane of that size with enough batteries to replace the fuel needed to power the jets would make the plane weigh so much that it couldn’t even take off.