A new electric aircraft startup was publicly unveiled at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) conference in Orlando, Florida, United States, on January 10, 2024.
Elysian Aircraft is a Dutch startup that aims to develop an all-electric aircraft capable of carrying 90 passengers over distances of up to 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles) thanks to a battery packed with an energy density of 360Wh/k.
The project is backed by Panta Holdings, a Dutch investment firm with interests in the aviation sector, and has also garnered the support of the Delft University of Technology (also known as TU Delft), in the Netherlands.
The development of battery-powered aircraft of a size above commuter aircraft scale has so far proved challenging for the industry, with quite a few startups switching to hybrid-electric concepts for regional aircraft designs and larger.
However, Elysian Aircraft is confident that it is technologically feasible to develop an all-electric aircraft for the regional market within a decade and, in a bid to support this claim, has posted two new research papers conducted in collaboration with TU Delft on its website that point in this direction.
Its developers expect this aircraft, the E9X, to be ready by 2033.
No financial details have been disclosed regarding the project.