“Heart's X1 demonstrator flew for 27 minutes from a regional airport in upstate New York, running on battery power the entire time.

…

The ES-30's design reflects a central problem in electric aviation: batteries store far less energy per pound than jet fuel. As aircraft get larger, battery packs have to grow too, leaving less room for passengers, bags, and freight. Batteries also don't get lighter in flight – a conventional plane sheds weight as it burns fuel, but an electric aircraft carries the same battery mass from departure to arrival.”

https://www.techspot.com/news/113540-heart-aerospace-30-seat-electric-plane-takes-flight.html

You probable need a hybrid for anything that would go to market, but this shows that electric can play a part

The Heart X1 uses four 400 KW electric motors.
Modern military solid state lasers can hit that target, while chemical military lasers hit 1 MW; problem is atmospheric attenuation, otherwise continuous ( line of sight however ) power can be transferred to keep batteries topped up.
At least for short intercity routes.

47 minutes ago, swansont said:

this shows that electric can play a part

They already do in the military.
The vast majority of small drones are electric, and there has been research into solar panel wingtops for MALE ISR drones.

I had thought there were operational electric aircraft and purchase agreements in place, eg -

FLYING Magazine

Alaska’s Ryan Air Bets on Beta Electric Aircraft

Bush cargo specialist places a deposit-backed order for Beta’s all-electric Alia.

A shame if this has failed to eventuate. I also came across some battery developments (out of China) intended for use in aircraft. But, yes, it is in drones where battery electric is currently used.

14 hours ago, Ken Fabian said:

it is in drones where battery electric is currently used.

Dutch company DeltaQuad recently introduced Evo-LE which can do ISR over an area for up to 8 hours.
Pretty good for a small expendable drone.

Still nowhere near comparable to large General Atomics models that can loiter over an area for 30-40 hours.

Drones aren’t really germane to the issue of passenger planes. It’s a different aspect of the scaling problem

5 hours ago, swansont said:

Drones aren’t really germane to the issue of passenger planes. It’s a different aspect of the scaling problem

Agreed.
One of the biggest issues for passenger planes is the issue of FAA certification.
The fire problems, and the fact that electrics land ( and need to be stressed for ) at the same weight as take-off, are just some of the issues.

Small steps ...

Speaking of the FAA, and their reluctance to certify anything in a hurry, almost all AVGas for IC engined planes, still uses Tetra Ethyl Lead as an octane booster ( almost 100 years after the discovery of its harmful effects ).
Not sure how far along they are, but last I heard, the FAA were stil dragging their feet to certify Ethanol ( in automotive use since the 70s ) for AVGas.

1 hour ago, MigL said:

Speaking of the FAA, and their reluctance to certify anything in a hurry, almost all AVGas for IC engined planes, still uses Tetra Ethyl Lead as an octane booster ( almost 100 years after the discovery of its harmful effects ).
Not sure how far along they are, but last I heard, the FAA were stil dragging their feet to certify Ethanol ( in automotive use since th

Apparently, an anti-knock agent is a must and only a suitable direct substitute will do.

Edited Thursday at 09:16 AM3 days by StringJunky