News Update

Rolls Royce’s all-electric aircraft accomplishes its maiden voyage

• ByStartupStory     |    September 18, 2021

Rolls-Royce has successfully taken an all-electric airplane on its maiden voyage. The “Spirit of Innovation” completed a 15-minute flight at the Ministry of Defense Boscombe Down aircraft testing site in Wiltshire, England, marking “the beginning of an intensive flight-testing phase in which we will be collecting valuable performance data on the aircraft’s electrical power and propulsion system,” the company announced.

The company’s goal is for the airplane’s speed to exceed 300 miles per hour. It’s working to beat the world record set by a Siemens electric plane that reached a speed of 210 mph in 2017 by improving on the battery and propulsion system.

The plane is boosted by its powerful 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain with the most pro-power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft. Accelerating the Electrification of Flight’ (the ACCEL program) includes key partners YASA, the electric motor and controller manufacturer, and aviation start-up Electroflight.

ACCEL was funded partially by the Aerospace Technology Institute, in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and Innovate UK. Rolls-Royce has also been working on the development of all-electric air taxis in partnership with Widerøe, the largest regional airline in Scandinavia.

Rolls-Royce initially completed ground tests with the aircraft in October 2020. Now, the “intensive flight test phase” following the maiden flight will collect valuable performance data on the electric power and propulsion system of the.

“The first flight of the Spirit of Innovation demonstrates how innovative technology can provide solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. We congratulate everyone who has worked on the ACCEL project to make the first flight a reality and look forward to the world speed record attempt which will capture the imagination of the public in the year that the UK hosts COP26,” said Gary Elliott, CEO, Aerospace Technology Institute.

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