Rolls-Royce has said it has developed the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, Dubbed as “Spirit of Innovation”
The United Kingdom (U.K.) based luxury automobile maker and aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has said it has developed the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft.
Dubbed as “Spirit of Innovation”, the aircraft attained a maximum speed of 387.4 mph (623 km/h) in flight, which Rolls-Royce said it believed makes it “the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle.
Taking it to twitter, Rolls Royce tweeted,
Our #ACCEL team have made history as the #SpiritOfInnovation reached speeds of 345.4 mph, to beat the record for an all-electric plane.
— Rolls-Royce (@RollsRoyce) November 19, 2021
Read more here: https://t.co/N5AVV3FP9g #NetZero pic.twitter.com/nmeMiykRD3
It further tweeted,
Our #SpiritofInnovation aircraft has flown faster than any other all-electric aircraft in history!
— Rolls-Royce (@RollsRoyce) November 19, 2021
A huge thanks to our partners on the #ACCEL project @Electroflight @YASAMotors @UKAeroInstitute @beisgovuk
Find out more here: https://t.co/kEaFNeCEuO #NetZero pic.twitter.com/WnRrPOJHbR
The company has submitted data to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the World Air Sports Federation which controls and certifies world aeronautical and astronautical records. It informed FAI that the aircraft reached a top speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 kilometres, overtaking the existing record by 213.04 km/h (132 mph). In further runs at the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down experimental aircraft testing site, the aircraft achieved 532.1 km/h (330 mph) over 15 kilometres. It also broke the fastest time to climb to 3,000 metres by 60 seconds with a time of 202 seconds.
During its record-breaking runs, the aircraft clocked up a maximum speed of 623 km/h (387.4 mph) which we believe makes the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rolls Royce – Warren East said, “Staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. I would like to thank our partners and especially Electroflight for their collaboration in achieving this pioneering breakthrough. The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Advanced Air Mobility market.”
The Secretary of State for Business and Energy, U.K. – Kwasi Kwarteng said, “Rolls-Royce’s revolutionary Spirit of Innovation aircraft is yet more proof of the UK’s enviable credentials when it comes to innovation. This record will show the potential of electric flight and help to unlock the technologies that could make it part of everyday life. The government is proud to back projects like this to leverage the private investment necessary to unlock cleaner, greener aircraft which will allow people to fly as they do now, but in a way that cuts emissions.”
The ‘Spirit of Innovation’ is part of the ‘Accelerating the Electrification of Flight’ (ACCEL) project. Half of the project’s funding is provided by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate U.K.
The aircraft was propelled on its record-breaking runs by a 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain and the most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace. Rolls Royce worked in partnership with aviation energy storage specialist Electroflight and automotive powertrain supplier YASA.
Rolls-Royce has a history of flying speed record attempts and breaking records, dating back to the Schneider Trophies of the early 1930s. In the history of FAI, no record has been broken with such a huge margin.
