- Rolls Royce has announced the completion of the first flight of our all-electric โSpirit of Innovationโ aircraft.
- The plane took to the skies propelled by its powerful 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain with the most power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft.ย
Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce, said:ย โThe first flight of the โSpirit of Innovationโ is a great achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. We are focused onย 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 advancedย battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Urban Air Mobility market and can help make โjet zeroโ a reality.โ
Half of the projectโs 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 programme is further evidence of the UKโs position at the forefront of the zero-emission aircraft revolution.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal