机载电动汽车：清洁、安静、高效航空的新时代

机载电动汽车（EV）正在迅速发展，使我们更接近一个更清洁、更安静、更高效的航空时代。

Airborne electric vehicles are gaining momentum as a sustainable solution for air transportation. Here's an overview of their advancements and the companies involved:

机载电动汽车作为航空运输的可持续解决方案正在蓬勃发展。以下是他们的进展和所涉及的公司的概述：

1. Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft are a prime example of airborne EVs, designed for applications ranging from delivery drones to urban air taxis. These aircraft are garnering attention for their potential to revolutionize short-distance air travel.

1. 电动垂直起降 (eVTOL) 飞机是机载电动汽车的一个典型例子，专为从送货无人机到城市空中出租车等应用而设计。这些飞机因其彻底改变短途航空旅行的潜力而受到关注。

2. The Middle East is emerging as a hub for e-VTOL operations, with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia at the forefront. Companies like Joby and Archer Aviation are securing deals to launch air taxi services in the region.

2. 中东正在成为电动垂直起降运营的中心，其中阿拉伯联合酋长国和沙特阿拉伯处于领先地位。 Joby 和 Archer Aviation 等公司正在争取在该地区推出空中出租车服务的交易。

3. Chinese manufacturer EHang has already conducted a passenger-carrying demo flight of its pilotless e-VTOL aircraft in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

3. 中国制造商亿航今年早些时候已在阿布扎比进行了无人驾驶电动垂直起降飞机的载客演示飞行。

4. According to McKinsey experts, by 2030, leading companies in the passenger AAM industry may offer many more daily flights, which will be shorter and with fewer passengers on board, than the world's largest airlines.

4. 麦肯锡专家表示，到 2030 年，客运 AAM 行业的领先公司可能会比世界上最大的航空公司提供更多的每日航班，但航班时间更短，机上乘客更少。

5. Against this backdrop, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued final rules last week for operating air taxis. The FAA said that air taxis belong to Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) flyers. They are highly automated, powered by electricity, and have vertical take-off and landing abilities, explained the agency.

5. 在此背景下，美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）上周发布了空中出租车运营的最终规则。美国联邦航空局表示，空中出租车属于高级空中移动（AAM）飞行器。该机构解释说，它们高度自动化，由电力驱动，并具有垂直起降能力。

6. Also considered ‘power-lift' vehicles, they have the elements of both airplanes and helicopters, said the FAA. While they will begin by using existing travel paths and landing structures currently being used by helicopters, the new rules will allow pilots to train with a single set of flight controls.

6. 美国联邦航空局表示，它们也被认为是“动力提升”车辆，具有飞机和直升机的要素。虽然他们将首先使用直升机目前使用的现有行进路径和着陆结构，但新规则将允许飞行员使用一套飞行控制装置进行训练。

7. Powered-lift aircraft, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said, are “the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years,” and the new rules will open the door to supporting their widespread AAM operations in the US.

7. 美国联邦航空局局长迈克·惠特克 (Mike Whitaker) 表示，动力升力飞机是“近 80 年来第一个新类别的飞机”，新规则将为支持其在美国广泛的空空导弹业务打开大门。

8. To advance this sector, last month, the FAA gave a $3.34mln grant to Wright Electric along with its partners, including NASA, DOE, and DOD, under its Fueling Aviation's Sustainable Transition (FAST) program. Through this grant, the FAA aims to develop a new class of batteries for large electric aircraft that can accommodate 100+ passengers, which accounts for over 90% of the aerospace industry's carbon emissions.

8. 为了推动这一领域的发展，上个月，美国联邦航空管理局 (FAA) 根据其燃料航空可持续转型 (FAST) 计划，向莱特电气及其合作伙伴（包括 NASA、DOE 和 DOD）拨款 334 万美元。通过这笔拨款，FAA 旨在为大型电动飞机开发新型电池，该飞机可容纳 100 多名乘客，占航空航天业碳排放量的 90% 以上。

9. Companies are now working on finding ways to make passenger airplanes operate entirely on electric power. The E9X is a newly designed electric aircraft, the design of which was conceptualized by the aviation startup Elysian and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The aircraft can hold more passengers (90) and fly farther (up to 500 miles) on a single charge than previously thought possible.

9. 公司现在正在努力寻找使客机完全依靠电力运行的方法。 E9X是一款新设计的电动飞机，其设计概念由航空初创公司Elysian和荷兰代尔夫特理工大学共同构思。该飞机一次充电可容纳更多乘客（90 人），飞行距离比之前想象的更远（最多 500 英里）。

10. These estimates are based on a theoretical battery pack of 360 watt-hours per kilogram. In contrast, Tesla (TSLA +0.72%) batteries have a density of between 272 and 296 Wh/kg.

10. 这些估算基于每公斤 360 瓦时的理论电池组。相比之下，特斯拉 (TSLA +0.72%) 电池的密度在 272 至 296 Wh/kg 之间。

11. The weight of the electric battery, according to Jayant Mukhopadhaya, a senior researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), is the main constraint of these planes as conventional commercial batteries store about 50x less energy per pound than jet fuel. As a result, in order to power an aircraft as big as the Boeing 737, we would need about 35-ton batteries.

11. 国际清洁运输理事会 (ICCT) 高级研究员 Jayant Mukhopadhaya 表示，电池的重量是这些飞机的主要限制因素，因为传统商用电池每磅存储的能量比喷气燃料少约 50 倍。因此，为了给波音 737 这样大的飞机提供动力，我们需要大约 35 吨重的电池。

12. “High density battery technology is one of the challenges at this moment, because scaling up production and further improving density remain crucial for widespread adoption.”

12.“高密度电池技术是目前面临的挑战之一，因为扩大生产规模和进一步提高密度对于广泛采用仍然至关重要。”

– Simay Akar, a senior member at IEEE

– Simay Akar，IEEE 高级会员

13. While the battery is the primary concern, the design is also critical. As such, the wings of the E9X aircraft are extremely large relative to the plane's body, which increases its aerodynamic efficiency.

13. 虽然电池是首要问题，但设计也很关键。因此，E9X 飞机的机翼相对于机身来说非常大，这提高了其空气动力效率。

“You shouldn't assume that an electric plane is going to look like the (most successful) planes of today.”

“你不应该认为电动飞机会看起来像当今（最成功的）飞机。”

– Reynard de Vries, director of design and engineering at Elysian

– Reynard de Vries，Elysian 设计与工程总监

14. Also, the batteries will not be placed in the fuselage but rather in the wings because they represent a large chunk of the plane's weight, and weight must be put “where the lift is being generated.”

14. 此外，电池不会放置在机身中，而是放置在机翼中，因为它们占飞机重量的很大一部分，并且重量必须放置在“产生升力的地方”。

The E9X, however, is just a concept for now and won't take flight until at least 2033. However, there are already other electric passenger aircraft, such as Aviation Alice, whose prototype was tested years ago, late in 2022, while having a target date of 2027 for full production. Eviation Alice, however, is designed to carry only nine passengers and two crew while having a range of about 250 nautical miles.

然而，E9X 目前还只是一个概念，至少要到 2033 年才会首飞。不过，已经有其他电动客机，例如 Aviation Alice，其原型机在几年前（即 2022 年末）进行了测试，同时拥有全面投产的目标日期是 2027 年。然而，Eviation Alice 的设计只能搭载 9 名乘客和 2 名机组人员，航程约为 250 海里。

15. So, there are clear limitations to electric planes; however, their ability to significantly reduce their carbon footprint from flying is too big to ignore

15. 所以，电动飞机有明显的局限性；然而，他们显着减少飞行碳足迹的能力不容忽视