Heart Aerospace’s 30-Passenger All-Electric Aircraft to Take Off in 2025

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Big, long-range electric passenger aircraft seem elusive and unattainable with current technology. Today’s batteries are still too heavy for airplane use; add more of them, and you’ll need even more powerful motors to take off. Efficiency suffers, too. Consequently, all-electric powertrains have only been proposed for small eVTOLs — until now. 

Namely, Swedish startup Heart Aerospace, which already made a splash with its hybrid, 30-passenger ES-30 airliner, now preparing to test the all-electric version, called X1. Also carrying 30 passengers, the X1 would be the largest airliner to take off running on electricity alone. The test is scheduled to take place in the second quarter of next year, with Heart Aerospace currently ironing out the safety aspects. The all-electric aircraft will take off from the Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York, which Heart Aerospace chose because of the low traffic density.

However, don’t let this fool you into thinking all-electric powertrains are ready for mass transportation. The X1 is currently only a prototype; more precisely, it’s the ES-30 aircraft, minus the turboprop engines. So, it would serve more as a demonstration of the technology, rather than a concept that will soon become real. Heart Aerospace will still use the X1 as a platform for rigorous testing before it turns the ES-30 into a production-ready airliner, called the X2. Most notably, the operation will include ground-based testing, charging operations, taxiing, and turnaround procedures.

“Developing innovative net zero aerospace technologies demands a revolution in product development and manufacturing, much like what we’ve witnessed in the automotive and space industries,” said Ben Stabler, Chief Technology Officer at Heart Aerospace.

The X1 has a wingspan of 32 meters (105 feet) and will be made mostly from composite materials. However, the startup is mum on other details. Still, considering the X1 has the same batteries as the ES-30 hybrid aircraft, it should have a range of over 120 miles (200 km). That’s still not enough for general use, which is why the production model will utilize a hybrid powertrain. 

Still, Heart Aerospace aims for a full range of 500 miles (800 km), more than enough for a medium-range, 30-passenger aircraft. Moreover, the production aircraft will need a runway length of only 3,600 feet (1,100 meters), and allow passengers to carry luggage of up to 25 kg (55 pounds). The first flight of the X2 production prototype is scheduled for 2026, while the production version should hit the sky by 2028.

Ashton Henning