A Comprehensive Overview of Electric Aircraft Propulsion

Abstract: Electric aircraft propulsion is a potential and relatively choice for a reduction of emissions in flight operations. This paper showcases four architectures of aircraft propulsion systems being now considered to utilise the advantages of electric propulsion with commercially profitable operating range and payload capabilities. One of the largest technological obstacles to the widespread use of electric propulsion in aviation is the low energy density of modern electric batteries. The aircraft of the future will be simpler to operate and more capable than today's singlepiston-engine aircraft due to a rare convergence of technologies, mainly Electric Propulsion and Information Technology. The transformation is already shaping the automotive industry with most of the legacy car manufacturers and some outsiders as well jumping into the electric car mass production bandwagon, all of them hoping to carve out bigger slices of the market. This paper describes some of the challenges and opportunities that arise when the upcoming technology convergence wave finds applications in a four/five seat general aviation aircraft to enter in service by 2025.