E-planes closer to being part of air travel’s future as Canadian research heightens | CBC News

Vehicles powered by electricity may soon no longer be limited to the ground, with research in Canada progressing into the testing of e-planes.

In Ontario, researchers at the University of Waterloo have partnered with Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre (WWFC) to test Velis Electro, a small e-plane that runs on batteries similar to an electric vehicle.  

The team is doing tests on the e-plane’s batteries to see how well they can withstand flight at different elevations and weather conditions. They are also testing the e-plane’s capacity for short-distance travel.

“We were flying down the Grand River … It was so beautiful,” Mehrdad Pirnia, lead researcher at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics and associate professor at UW’s Management Science and Engineering Department, told CBC News.

He said he “totally forgot about the freaky nature” of a noiseless plane once he was up in the air.

A ‘slow’ approach to battery testing

Pirnia said his team is utilizing “a very slow approach” to testing the Velis Electro’s batteries.

“We started by just charging and discharging the batteries of the electric plane while they are on the ground,” he said. 

Pirnia and his team then test the e-planes by doing circuits, where pilots take off, put the planes into high power until they reach 305 metres, do some circuits at that elevation and then land. Pirnia said they repeat those circuits seven times.

The team is doing upper air exercises and testing the batteries’ capacity by conducting intercity test flights.

“We started by flying to Guelph and coming back with one charge,” he said. “We had a charger installed in Brantford. From here to Brantford, charging the e-plane, and then coming back again. We came back with around 60 per cent of charge.” 

E-planes for pilot training

Zachary Taylor is a flight instructor at WWFC who flies the Velis Electro for pilot training. He said in an interview that the battery technology is what’s holding back the e-plane at the moment.

He said, when flying the e-plane for lessons, “there’s no dilly-dallying, and maybe you don’t double up on lessons” because of limitations on the battery’s capacity.

“You just kind of stick to one item at a time, and always [be] aware of … how much charge is left in the battery essentially.” 

Pirnia said the Velis’s range can depend on many factors, including the “e-plane’s power setting, altitude, speed and the amount of battery reserve that should [be left] in the battery in case of emergency.” 

“The plane can fly for 45 to 50 minutes plus 10 to 15 minutes of reserve, which can be translated to about 200 kilometres.” 

The e-plane’s batteries need to be charged after every flight, but Taylor does not see this as an issue for flight instructors.

“If you were teaching a lesson, like you’d come back from your flight, pull the plane in, keep an eye on it, and then you could debrief the students,” he said. 

“While that’s going, theoretically you could be briefing with your next students. By the time you’re ready to go, your plane could be almost ready to go as well.”

‘99% emission-free flights’: researcher

Electric vehicles are touted for being cleaner than traditional, gas-powered vehicles. Pirnia said it’s the same with e-planes.

“Actually there [are] no emissions while the planes are flying or operating,” he said. “The emission comes from the charging of the batteries and it depends on the grid that you are charging the battery on.”

Pirnia said Ontario’s electric grid is “pretty clean,” utilizing a mix of nuclear, renewable and gas sources. “With some sort of thoughtful charging time, we can even get to 99 per cent emission-free flights.” 

Despite its potential, Pirnia’s team is still waiting to test the Velis Electro’s battery in different weather conditions.

“Right now, we don’t have the permission to operate the plane in temperatures below zero,” he said. “Based on the Pilot Operational Handbook (POH), the operational temperature range for Velis Electri is –20 C to 35 C.”

Pirnia said they have only tested the battery in higher temperatures at this point, but that “battery temperatures are remaining well within the normal range” of 11 to 50 C. 

“The cooling system worked as designed and battery temperature remained stable.”

E-planes already in use 

Other companies that are either already working with e-planes or have shown an interest in the technology include a seaplane company Harbour Air.

In 2022, CBC News reported on Harbour Air, which had “its first direct point-to-point test flight … flying 74 kilometres in 24 minutes from a terminal on the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport to a bay near Victoria International Airport.”

“The technology is there right now,” Pirnia said. He also mentioned Air Canada signing a contract to acquire ES30s — a hybrid, 30-passenger plane.

CBC News reached out to Air Canada for confirmation about the acquisition of these ES30s for possible commercial use.

A representative from Air Canada told CBC News in an email that the electric planes are still “under development and not flying commercially.” 

The representative also said the e-planes are “still a few years away from entering service and it is premature to discuss how they will be deployed.”

“I really enjoy flying it,” Taylor said. “This aircraft as we have it is a little limited … It’s just a matter of getting that technology to progress.”

The e-planes are currently only being tested for use during pilot training, but Pirnia said the next step would be to have e-planes approved for short-distance flights.

“The next thing is having these electric planes accommodated within regional flights actually,” he said.

“That would be the future, for sure.”