A Comparison of Electric Vehicle Power Systems to Predict Architectures, Voltage Levels, Power Requirements, and Load Characteristics of the Future All-Electric Aircraft

The aviation industry has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the major rise in electric power system technology for the past several decades. With more electric aircraft now the industry standard, the new future vision is toward all-electric aircraft, wherein conventional power systems and propulsion sources are electrified. This paper compares and analyzes the Electric Power Systems (EPS) of all-electric vehicles, all-electric ships and more electric aircraft to help predict future development of all-electric aircraft EPS. It is concluded that gravimetric energy density, weight, cost of current battery, and propulsion systems for aircraft are the main limitations preventing the transition to all-electric aircraft. Furthermore, lithium-air batteries show promise for closing the energy density gap between gasoline and batteries. Finally, some recent advancements in small-scale all-electric aircraft development illustrate the bright future of all-electric aircraft.