EasyJet wants to fly electric planes in 10 years
The electric dream is closer to taking flight.
Wright Electric and European budget airline EasyJet have partnered with the goal of flying an all-electric passenger plane in the next decade.
Before the announcement, Wright presented its idea for an electric plane at the Y Combinator Demo Day in Silicon Valley earlier this year. The company had floated a partnership then with EasyJet, which is known for its short-haul flights in the UK and Europe.
On Wednesday the partnership became official with EasyJet backing up Wright's goal to fly a plane on battery power alone. Both companies are aiming for 10 years for take-off.
The airplane manufacturer startup's CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Engler was at EasyJet's Innovation Day Wednesday, where the partnership was announced. In a video on Air Transport World, Engler talked about scaling up to eventually fly 150 people on short-haul flights.
Wright already has already built a two-seat electric plane, but to fly a commercial plane would take a significant leap in battery technology. The longest recorded electric flight was 1,000 miles -- and only one person was onboard.
It's a win for low-emissions travel, but sit tight while the limits of battery power are tested and pushed.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
