The Alice electric aircraft was designed for first-generation sustainable flight and made its maiden flight last September in Washington. With a capacity of nine, the Alice is the only commercial aircraft designed from the ground up to fly exclusively on batteries, built by Eviation, a company founded in Israel and currently based in the US. Its attractive design only serves to optimize its performance, according to Deutsche Welle in its publication. In fact, it resembles a slender whale with a sharp, flattened nose. Alice has a wide fuselage that tapers at the end to increase buoyancy and lift a massive 3.5 tonne battery. The aircraft’s electric motors will make it possible to develop a cruising speed of 407 kilometers per hour.

The big problem with electric planes is also evident in Alice: batteries are still too big, too heavy, and provide too little power for efficient and long flights. After a successful first flight that lasted only eight minutes, the company significantly reduced the estimated range to 445 kilometers. Nevertheless, electric aircraft are in demand. “Purely electric flights are very fashionable due to the high electrical efficiency, if, for example, batteries are charged with wind energy,” explains Bjorn Nagel, head of the Institute for Systems Architecture at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Hamburg. First deliveries of Alice are scheduled for 2027 as battery technology continues to advance at a predictable pace. Buyers include American Cape Air, charter company GlobalX Airlines, Deutsche Post, and passenger airlines such as Air New Zealand.