Rolls-Royce believes it has set three new world records to claim the title of the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft. The records include the fastest top speed over 3 km in which it clocked in at 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) smashing the current record of 213.04 km/h (132mph), fastest speed over 15 km, and fastest clime to 300 meters.
During its runs, the Rolls-Royce “Spirit of Innovation” aircraft registered a maximum speed of 623 km/h (387.4 mph), a speed the automaker believes is the world’s fastest for an all-electric vehicle. Rolls-Royce has submitted the results and is waiting for FAI certification.
The Spirit of Innovation plane is part of Rolls-Royce’s Accelerating the Electrification of Flight Project (ACCEL), in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the Department for Business, Energy, & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK. The recent accomplishments serve as a big step towards the company’s sustainability goals of achieving net-zero operation by 2030
“Staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce,” said Rolls-Royce CEO, Warren East. “The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this program has exciting applications for the Advanced Air Mobility market. Following the world’s focus on the need for action at COP26, this is another milestone that will help make ‘jet zero’ a reality and supports our ambitions to deliver the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonize transport across air, land, and sea.”
“Electric flight is set to be as transformative for mobility as the jet engine was 70 years ago,” YASA‘s CTO Dr. Tim Woolmer added. “It’s thrilling to see our ultra-high performance, super-low weight electric motors powering the Spirit of Innovation to these great speeds, and to know that collaborative projects like ACCEL take us one step closer to emissions-free electric flight becoming a commercial reality for all.”
Find out more about the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Innovation aircraft here.
Elsewhere in aviation, the world’s largest aircraft completes its fourth flight test.
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