Travellers could be making all-electric airline flights as soon as 2028. That’s when Heart Aerospace’s well-funded hybrid-drive ES-30 is planned to enter service, with a projected battery range of 200 km (124 miles) – or much farther in hybrid mode.

We first heard about Swedish startup Heart Aerospace back in 2021, when the company announced development of its 19-passenger all-electric short-range airliner, the ES-19.

That design subsequently morphed into the 30-passenger ES-30, which features a “reserve-hybrid” configuration. In a nutshell, this means that for extending range on longer flights, the aircraft’s four electric propeller motors can be powered by two aviation-fuel-burning turbo generators. For shorter flights, though, only the BAE-Systems-designed batteries are used.

This setup is claimed to give the aircraft an all-electric range of 200 km (124 miles) per 30-minute charge, or 400 km (249 miles) with the generators helping out while cruising at altitude. With a lighter load of 25 passengers (and their luggage), the latter range figure climbs to 800 km (497 miles).

This X-ray image of an earlier version of the ES-30 shows the placement of the aircraft's batteries
This X-ray image of an earlier version of the ES-30 shows the placement of the aircraft’s batteries

Heart Aerospace

As is the case with other electric airliners, the ES-30 is promised to produce fewer carbon emissions than traditional combustion-engine planes, while also reducing operating costs and maintenance requirements.

It will reportedly also be much quieter than its fuel-guzzling counterparts, plus because its electric motors quickly deliver maximum torque, it will be able to take off from runways as short as 1,100 m (3,609 ft). With these attributes in mind, the aircraft should be capable of taking off and landing at airstrips in small, currently underserved communities, and at neighborhood “pocket airports” in larger cities.

Plans call for the ES-30 to be in use by 20
Plans call for the ES-30 to be in use by 2028

Heart Aerospace

A number of corporate clients are apparently sold on the concept, as Heart Aerospace has so far raised US$145 million in development funding from high-profile partners such as United Airlines, Air Canada, Saab, the European Investment Council, and Mesa Air Group. The company currently has firm orders for 250 of the aircraft, along with purchase rights for an additional 120 planes, and letters of intent for another 191 on top of that.

The opening of a Los-Angeles-based research and development center was announced this May.

Source: Heart Aerospace

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