https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aussie-start-up-pushing-switch-to-electric-passenger-planes-20181221-p50npp.html Aussie start up pushing switch to electric passenger planes 9 January 2019 Patrick Hatch
[image https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.215%2C$multiply_1%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_83%2C$y_109/t_crop_custom/w_780/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto%2Cdpr_auto/818c9611d2cbeecb92f9e7a1293fad38cbbf1c1c MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski. Credit:Paul Harris https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.53%2C$multiply_1%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_95/t_crop_custom/w_780/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto%2Cdpr_auto/6621bebe61f250951b461e0601e5fcfb4067e86e magniX's is pitching its engines for turbo prop aircraft like the Cessna Caravan, used by many small aviation operators. Credit:Ryan Osland videos https://youtu.be/RDtduvin9Mw magniX Powering Flight magniX 1st Spin Video https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVx39SyNb4_ZrAs20_TIAIw ] Motorists are getting used to the idea of electric cars zipping around our roads. But how about using battery power to fight gravity? That will soon be a reality too if Australian start up magniX has its way. The company, based on the Gold Coast, hopes to have its electric engines propelling light commercial aircraft within three years, while promising flights that are cheaper to operate, better for the environment and more comfortable for passengers. “I’ve been shocked at how powerful the interest has been," says chief executive Roei Ganzarski, a former Boeing executive and now magniX's chief executive. "People are asking us today about when they can start converting their aircraft - I’m talking about multiple operators in the US, Europe and in Australia." The company was founded by a group of local engineers in 2009 as a research and development firm looking at electric motors in general. About 12 months ago, after developing a prototype motor, the company saw the most commercial potential in building light-weight electric aircraft engines and narrowed its focus to aerospace. “If a car or boat or bus is a little heavy, or a factory motor is a little heavy, maybe you get a little less performance but still everything can work," says Ganzarski. "When an airplane is too heavy it simply won’t take off." Last month magniX opened a second office in Seattle, Washington - an aerospace industry hub and home to Boeing's largest manufacturing plant, to compliment its Gold Coast facility, which employees about 40 people who design and build the motors. magniX's most promising product, a 751-horsepower alternative to the Pratt & Whitney PT6, is designed as a replacement for engines in turbo propeller aircraft that carry up to 15 passengers - like Cessna 208 Caravans, Havilland Twin Otters and Beechcraft King Airs. Ganzarski says that if retrofitted onto a Cessna Caravan, magniX's engine would weigh about two-thirds to half as much as PT6, while taking up about one-third of the space - creating room for more cargo. Weight savings would also come from removing the gearbox, which would not be needed because the electric motors already spin at the same speed as an aircraft propeller (19,000 rotations per minute). Commercial airlines could cut their operating costs by 50 to 80 per cent from lower fuel bills and maintenance costs by converting to magniX's electric engine, Ganzarski claims. There would also be less noise and no fuel smell for passengers, while the plane could fly emissions free if batteries were recharged from renewable sources. magniX expects to operate the first test flight using its engine by the end of this year. The engines then need to be certified by air safety regulators, and the company hopes to have them in commercial operation in 2022. Ganzarski says the company's biggest challenge going forward is battery capacity. A Cessna Caravan, for example, has a range of 1070 nautical miles (almost 2000 kilometres) when fully loaded with fuel, but magniX's engines could only fly 100 to 150 nautical miles (277 kilometres) when carrying the same weight in batteries. Ganzarski says that limitation will be addressed in two ways. Firstly, Caravans are mostly used to fly far shorter missions that are within the distance of current batteries. 'Changes the model' And secondly, he says battery technology will improve once there is demand - just as has happened with batteries for electric cars. "There’s never been a propulsion system that would require a battery, so why develop one?" he says. Companies including Uber are developing smaller, autonomous aircraft that could buzz about cities, but magniX is focused on commercial passenger planes for the time being. He expects manufacturers will start building new aircraft around advancements in electric motors - including his. Even with existing small aircraft, he thinks electric motors could rapidly change aviation markets such as Australia's. The cut in operating costs could make new routes to regional and rural towns viable, and even open up operations between suburban airstrips in Sydney and Melbourne. "The airfields exist, they’re just not being utilised because it’s too expensive," he says. "Electric aviation changes the model.” Ganzarski predicts it will take 30 to 40 years for larger, jet engine aircraft operated by major airlines like Qantas to move to electric engines. The Clermont Group, a Singaporean investment vehicle started by New Zealand billionaire Richard Chandler, bought magniX in 2014 and is funding its ongoing research and development. [© smh.com.au] ... http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=magniX magniX + https://www.wired.com/story/volkswagen-electric-car-charging-electrify-america-plug-charge/ VW's EV Chargers Make Paying for Power Easier Than Ever 01.09.2019 Drivers of electric vehicles, not so much. Public charging stations are far from ubiquitous, and boosting a battery ... https://media.wired.com/photos/5c351bcea213105887f0d271/master/w_582,c_limit/Electrify-America-Daytime-Transpo.jpg For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/archive/ {brucedp.neocities.org} -- Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/ _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
