Science & Technology

The future of flying is electrifying | Cory Combs

Take action on climate change at . If you’re a frequent flier, you’re also a major polluter. What if there was a way to travel the world with less impact on the environment? In this quick, exciting talk, aviation entrepreneur and TED Fellow Cory Combs lays out how electric aircraft could make flying cleaner, quieter…

Published

3 years ago

May 18, 2021

CYBER TECH TV

Take action on climate change at .

If you’re a frequent flier, you’re also a major polluter. What if there was a way to travel the world with less impact on the environment? In this quick, exciting talk, aviation entrepreneur and TED Fellow Cory Combs lays out how electric aircraft could make flying cleaner, quieter and more affordable — and shares his work on Electric EEL, the largest hybrid-electric plane ever to fly.

Countdown is TED’s global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, in the race to a zero-carbon world. Get involved at

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Transcriber:

I work in aviation, but the truth is
I don’t much like flying.

Current commercial flights
are inconvenient,

noisy, expensive
and use ancient plane designs

that have hardly changed from the 1950s.

It also represents my biggest
personal impact on the environment,

just as it does for many of us
who fly multiple times a year.

Aviation will continue
to face fierce headwinds globally

even after the pandemic subsides,

because flying is becoming the symbol
of a polluting lifestyle.

Pressure is growing to decarbonize planes
or even cease flying altogether.

But the great news is

that a change which will reroute
our industry’s flight path

into fresh tailwinds

has already begun and is gathering speed.

This change is the third revolution
in aviation — electrification,

and it is happening right now.

Like the previous
piston and jet revolutions,

going electric will dramatically
transform the way we fly.

Electrification promises to make flying
accessible to more people globally

from more airports

while also making planes cleaner,
quieter and more affordable.

The current dominant narrative
is that we need to buy offsets

while waiting for some
miracle future clean fuel

and meanwhile keep cramming people
into tubes at increasingly congested hubs.

That fails to reckon
with the rapid progress

in electric technology

across nearly all other
forms of transportation.

So my answer in 2016
was to create a company called Ampaire

and develop an electric aircraft capable
of flying real routes for real airlines.

And we have done so with this plane,
the Electric EEL,

which first flew in 2019.

In 2020, our second
generation of this plane

flew with an airline partner in Hawaii

demoing daily flight operations
on one of their routes, a world first.

Meanwhile, we’re hard at work
on the third generation of the EEL,

as well as scaling up to a much larger
19-passenger aircraft

with the help of NASA.

Now, these aren’t yet
fully electric planes.

They’re hybrids.

And that’s actually my point today

and why the current
dominant narrative misses the mark.

Electrification does not only
mean pure battery electric.

That’s just not possible yet,

when you need to carry
passengers or cargo,

except for small trainer aircraft.

Instead, our industry must start saving
massive amounts of fuel and emissions

by electrifying
the entire aviation ecosystem.

Electrifying aviation right now

means solar panels
and battery backup systems at airports,

plugging planes into gate power
instead of burning fuel,

electric taxi to the runway

as well as electric tugs
and ground equipment.

For flight itself, electrification means
starting with small aircraft

and for planes
of meaningful commercial size,

payload and range starting hybrid.

Although hybrid isn’t the ultimate goal,

it is critical to start right now

rather than waiting
for future batteries or future fuels.

Think of cars where we had a small Prius
decades before a large Tesla semitruck.

Small planes like Ampaires

are the proving grounds
for electric technology,

be it lighter high voltage cables,

better compact motors
or advanced power electronics

that are key to unlocking
higher efficiency

in aircraft of all sizes.

Electrification will permeate everything,

from jumbo jets
becoming more electric aircraft

to repowering island hopper prop planes.

As batteries and electronics improve,

larger and larger aircraft
will get more and more electric over time.

This is not a pipe dream

but represents iteration
along a practical,

cost effective and achievable
route into the future.

Ampaire is being joined by other companies

that are also striving
to transform aviation to a cleaner future.

It’s a revolution in the making,

building on technologies
derived from electric ground transport,

inventing new solutions and taking them
higher and higher into the stratosphere.

Thank you.

Related Topics:Electricity featured flight sustainability technology TED Fellows TED Talk TED Talks TEDTalk TEDTalks transportation

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77 Comments

Tomas Ramoska

May 18, 2021 at 6:57 pm

Ad

Reply
jergoz

May 18, 2021 at 7:14 pm

They copied the Sea Duck Plane from the old cartoon TaleSpin.

Reply
Aaron Wetzel

May 18, 2021 at 7:14 pm

What about hydrogen fuel cells
Could they be the future of aviation?

Reply
Penfold

May 18, 2021 at 7:19 pm

Utter nonsense, solves nothing other than pollution even then where does the power come from?, same runways, same flight plans. Unable to carry large numbers, most likely more Planes in the air, to already existing destinations…

Reply
Peter Graaf

May 18, 2021 at 7:23 pm

make a plane for Microsoft flight sim 2020! great way to show the hybrid!

Reply
Remy Lebeau

May 18, 2021 at 7:37 pm

It is a pipe dream if battery tech doesn’t grow by leaps and bounds, and if the psycho left keeps refusing the real energy revolution of nuclear. Also eventually fusion energy, hopefully.

Reply
Fábio

May 18, 2021 at 7:57 pm

Take steps towards de-carbonization: yes we need.
But it is a product placement 01:40 more than an aswer.
Trains are in my opinion a better way for most of us, and for smaller routes we could use planes.

Reply
Aoyagi

May 18, 2021 at 8:01 pm

Case and point, there is no “Tesla truck”. And Tesla doesn’t make any money from its dreadful products.

Reply
Cabdullaahi Bootaan

May 18, 2021 at 8:05 pm

I want to invest this company for $10.
If YouTube survives next 5 years. It will be two options, my investment (comment) will worth $100,000 or the company will fail.

Reply
Sindiy M.F

May 18, 2021 at 8:13 pm

Many questions for the “Worker in Aviation”. Where are we going to get so much Electricity from, many Nuclear power plants are being shut down. Eolic is not enough plus the sonic pollution is not healthy.

Reply
- idontgotnothin
  
  May 18, 2021 at 11:21 pm
  
  Shut down? Replaced. The electricity hasnt gone away.
  
  Reply
- Sindiy M.F
  
  May 18, 2021 at 11:35 pm
  
  @idontgotnothin Yeah of course not. But electricity comes from something. I’m not an expert and I don’t know about your country. Basically, electricity comes from nuclear power plants in Europe, fossil fuel .
  
  Reply
ziguirayou

May 18, 2021 at 8:30 pm

So, it all depends on miracle batteries… Next video you can say that the future of flying is star trek like teleportation. We just need to invent the technology to allow that.

Reply
FunBotan

May 18, 2021 at 8:38 pm

What’s the problem with making synthetic fuel with clean energy? That wouldn’t require changing anything in the design of the planes themselves and all the technology already exists.

Reply
Cold Person

May 18, 2021 at 8:40 pm

Everybody will be shocked

Reply
The Chaosis

May 18, 2021 at 8:45 pm

Great idea but highly impractical for commercial use due to the cost per output. Hyrdogen fuel is more practical use in aviation.

Reply
David Grider

May 18, 2021 at 8:48 pm

Yeah, CO2 from airplanes, not really on the top 10 list of problems the world is facing or needs to solve. If it’s cheaper and more efficient the let the market sort it out. Maybe electric power is better, maybe it isn’t. This guy is only giving you one side of the debate, one which he has a financial interest.

Reply
DDPWE

May 18, 2021 at 8:50 pm

Well, battery technology hasn’t fundamentally changed since it was conceived. The only real thing we’ve done, is make them bigger/compact sizes, but still providing the same output compared to its size/weight. It’ll be a LONG time before planes can fully utilize batteries as their main source of ‘fuel’, if at all, because of the sheer weight.

Reply
Peter 24

May 18, 2021 at 9:13 pm

Hmm .. I kinda started to grow tired of the ” everything electric ” narrative . There must be other things that can work too yet not fully researched / funded .

Reply
waddac2

May 18, 2021 at 9:56 pm

How would sheer jet engine power be beaten by electric power in a passenger airliner travelling around the world to a destination?

Reply
emancoy

May 18, 2021 at 10:13 pm

The zeppelin might come back

Reply
Impatient Ape

May 18, 2021 at 11:16 pm

Just a bit of advice from someone who has given over 3000 lectures, and has coached dozens of college students on how to give good research presentations. Resist the impulse to use those forceful hand-jerking motions during your presentation. This very distracting arm/hand flailing is an unfortunate pervasive feature of many informative YouTube videos where engineers/scientists talk directly to the camera during explanations. Like non-verbal “speed bumps”, excessive flailing can momentarily divert your audience members’ attention away from your discussion. I advise students that using hand motions during technical talks is like using italics or cussing: it should be employed sparingly for emphasis at the right moments so that it becomes powerful. If you are pitching to venture capital, you want your non-verbal cues to reinforce the impression that you are confident that this is going to work and are calm about it. You don’t want your non-verbal cues to suggest you might be a crackpot who is desperate to get others to believe in his vision. Best of luck!

Reply
idontgotnothin

May 18, 2021 at 11:20 pm

Hydrogen, the future is hydrogen

Reply
Hugo Austin

May 18, 2021 at 11:51 pm

This man looks like he hasnt slept in years

Reply
Nathan Banks

May 19, 2021 at 12:06 am

I was impressed by Harbour Air’s electric planes in 2019. It’s nice to know that electric already works for short routes. Apart from having less noise at take-off and better STOL/VTOL capabilities, I don’t understand how hybrid can help.

Reply
Fun Party

May 19, 2021 at 12:36 am

They can already make biofuels which can be turned into jetfuels and are effectively net Zero carbon. Trust me that is far better for the planet (assuming we decarbonise everything else that doesn’t require jet engines to work)

This is bad in that it requires
1. New technologies which don’t exist and are unlikely to ever exist in large commercial airlines or any type of military aircraft / spacecraft
2. Electric batteries which mining the components destroy vast sections of wildlife (especially trees which are carbon sinks)
3. Completely remaking aircraft a costly and energy intensive process that will both divert funds from other more important areas (electrifying cars and industry) and be extremely difficult to make a meaningful dent on the airline industry (due to the major losses due to covid)

That said what he said about putting solar on the roofs of airports to power everything that isn’t an aeroplane is an idea that really should be implemented.

Reply
kevin scott

May 19, 2021 at 1:01 am

Brilliant

Reply
Tushar Kapila

May 19, 2021 at 10:11 am

Would have enjoyed it more if he gave some data. Like what percent of his plane is electric currently and how many liters of fuel are burnt per hour per passenger in a regular plane with same number of passengers? After I saw the figures for commercial flying I have refused two trips that were optional.

Reply
Arnold Sherrill

May 19, 2021 at 10:49 am

I can see this for general aviation., for commercial use until they can figure out how to shrink the size of the battery without loss of efficiency Plus safety issues, remember lithium-ion batteries and airplane cargo holds don’t mix well for example. This technology although not a pipedream has a long way to go it is not going to solve the problem overnight it is a start., but it is just that, and nothing else

Reply
Jayashree J

May 19, 2021 at 11:04 am

When the commercial flights have imposed restriction on taking lithium batteries in checkin baggage , here he is talking about electrifying the aviation .. so would that work ? Practical ?

Reply
NowEx

May 19, 2021 at 12:14 pm

You can see how hard he is working on it. He look like a zombie

Reply
C Miller

May 19, 2021 at 1:11 pm

We’re not going back to the propeller for commercial flights. Problem is there isn’t an electric equivalent to the jet turbine. We’re never going to see meaningful electric flight until there’s real innovation on that front.

Reply
Gabriel Perrin

May 19, 2021 at 2:26 pm

The future of flying is flying less.

Reply
Xurshidbek Axmadaliyev

May 19, 2021 at 4:15 pm

EEE gAP YOQ LEKIN

Reply
Paul Diamond

May 19, 2021 at 4:36 pm

I know graphene supercapacitors (alone) do not have the energy density to fly a plane for very long, but what if it is paired with solid state battery technology?

Is solid state battery technology compatible with airplane design?

Reply
Phoebe J

May 19, 2021 at 4:57 pm

YES YES YES!!!!

Reply
Phyllobates Terribilis

May 19, 2021 at 5:13 pm

The bullshit in this video could fertilize all the crops – or fill one AOC press release.

Reply
lautoka63

May 19, 2021 at 8:03 pm

There are a few flaws in his argument, which feels more like a sales pitch. Talking about crowded hubs – where each aircraft has more than 100 people on board – and proposing a solution with an aircraft carrying 6 passengers or up to a 19 seater isn’t the revolution he’s talking about. Batteries will likely have enough for short-haul aircraft up to 19 seater, but no more in my lifetime. Lots of small aircraft will arguably create more problems (e.g. in terms of ATC management for collision avoidance) than it solves.

Reply
Erdem Metin

May 19, 2021 at 10:13 pm

BULLSHIT!
First you say it is electric, then you say it is hybrid.
Batteries just don’t have enough energy density to fly efficiently. If you want a ecofriendly plane, just feed your regular aircraft with BIOFUEL.
BIOFUEL is 100% renewable but i think your electricity and hybrid system is not! (a very big proportion of electricity made with hydrocarbons)
Electric and hybrid planes have a negative impact on world, compared to oil powered planes. Because their efficiency much worse then oil powered planes.
There is a simple logic there, if your energy density is getting lower, your total mass should get bigger. And if your total mass gets higher, you need more energy. An if you use more energy this means more mas, more mass means more enrgy and so on. At a certain point, your vehicle should reach 0% efficiency. Which means you can’t even move it. This is why hybrid planes are small.

With the current technology, you CANNOT make a cargo plane with batteries or hybrid hydrogen systems. Because they would have 0% to 10% efficiency. With the same amount energy to power those planes, Instead you can make BIOFUEL for aero crafts and still have approximately 40% efficiency.

Reply
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May 20, 2021 at 2:13 am

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May 20, 2021 at 2:22 am

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May 20, 2021 at 10:20 am

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May 20, 2021 at 6:11 pm

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May 20, 2021 at 10:45 pm

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Edward Lawrence of

May 21, 2021 at 2:24 am

Oh, TED
I LOVE YOU

THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
FOR YOUR OPINIONS | CONTRIBUTION

LET’S TOGETHER FOR A BETTER WORLD

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J Nüsslein

May 21, 2021 at 6:13 am

Green energy plane

Reply
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May 22, 2021 at 9:19 am

Inspiring 😀💓

Reply
Anthony Higham

May 22, 2021 at 11:28 am

Hybrid aircraft; burn fuel to generate electricity to drive an electric motor to produce thrust. So you take an efficient system like a turboprop and make it inefficient and burn more fuel. Genius.

Reply
Jimmy B

May 23, 2021 at 9:47 am

We humans would be FAR better off putting ALL of our efforts into what it is that’s effecting the gyro magneto moment of particles and what the forces are that we haven’t even theorised yet, rather than focusing on making everything electric, which is no where near as clean as we’re all pretending and won’t be until we either embrace nuclear fission fast breeders. or solve fusion.

So sick of hearing about half arsed bandaid solutions that are really just a new economy in sheep’s clothing.

Reply
Alexander Gracian

May 24, 2021 at 4:41 pm

Depressingly this is the first time I have seen a ‘TED Ad’! It contains no real educational value, and falls way below the standard of say Seeker, Joe-Scott, Wired, Tom Scott etc. Really devalues the brand…… 🙁

Reply
Bob Lu

May 25, 2021 at 1:15 pm

Arent we generating the majority of power by burning fossil fuels? Whats the life cycle emission of ur flight?

Reply

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