This is what’s keeping electric planes from taking off

The company wants to start in niche markets. In some countries, such as Norway, these routes could be subsidized by the government.

The goal is to expand regional flying around the world. The company claims that its planes can fly up to 250 miles even with current battery technology. There is a distance between New York City and Boston.

The battery requirements to fly are quite large. For a combined capacity comparable to that of eight to 10 electric vehicles, Heart will carry 3.5 tons of batteries.

Wright Electric wants to make planes that are even larger. The company plans to retrofit 100 seat aircraft with batteries for short routes and expects to fly by 2026.

Some in the industry don't think such planes can be successful without improvements to the batteries. The battery technology is still in its infancy.

The range of electric aircraft would be limited with existing energy storage technology according to a report by theICCT. He says they were surprised by how bad the range was.

The analysts estimated that the 19-seat battery-powered aircraft would have a maximum cruise range of about 160 miles, much less than the company claimed.

Estimates by outsiders don't give a true picture of the company's technology since they're not aware of details about its battery pack and plane design Rather than retrofitting an existing model to run on batteries, the company will design its own aircraft.