The Evolution of Mobility: From Horses to Electric Dreams, Part 3

There are more solutions than obstacles. Nicolas Zart

A Journey Through Time: From Gas Back to Electricity

The Electric Revolution: Setting the Stage for AAM

In part 1 we looked at how after thousands of years of evolution, humanity went from walking to horseback riding to the steam engine. In part 2, we showed how we evolved from steam power to electric mobility and the 140 sidestep years with the internal combustion energy (ICE) technology to where we are again today with electric mobility. And what a wild ride it has been, pun intended!

As we embraced the return of the more efficient electric propulsion system that started around the late 1990s, electric vehicles (EV) and electrified aircraft reemerged with tantalizing greater efficiency and potential performance. From the early GM EV1 and Pipistrel work on electrifying their gliders around the same time, it wouldn’t be until the late 2000 after a global financial meltdown that companies such as Mitsubishi introduced their mass-produced iMiEV and its more than sufficient 40 to 60-mile range at the time. Another unknown Californian startup began work on electrifying the concept of a multi-rotor electric helicopter we now call electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) called Joby. Yes, the modernization of electric mobility is that old.

If you compare the advances in electric mobility technology in less than 15 years to the Lucid Motors Air’s impressive 503-mile range offers, it is blindly clear that EV technology has pole-vaulted past ICE now stagnating development. The rest of the focus today is on shrinking battery energy and its price which has happened since the introduction of lithium-ion batteries in the 1990s. If we take into consideration the jump from lead-acid to nickel-metal hydrates, and now lithium chemistries in a few short decades, it’s clear electric mobility is pushing the boundaries well beyond that of liquid and gaseous energy propulsion solutions.

The Genius of Electric Propulsion: Efficiency and Energy Density

The genius of using electric motors lies in their simplicity and efficiency. With roughly one moving part, its efficiency is about 90% to 99%. The electric motor not only boasts superior energy density, second only to the steam engine but also delivers 100% torque as soon as it spins. The energy storage is Achilles’ heel. Thankfully, energy density has always improved by leaps and bounds as well as affordability. Mass manufacturing has driven down prices, unlike fossil fuels.

Embracing the Future: Electric Dreams Take Flight, Again

And so, after eons of mobility evolution, from walking to horses to steam engines to electricity, to an ICE technology detour, we find ourselves back again with electric propulsion, 140 or more later. EVs and their electric aircraft cousins in the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector rely on batteries and other forms of hybrid energy storage. We are once again faced with the battery energy density dilemma, but this time, we won’t let vested interests or aliens (maybe) hold us back. If 240kWh is sufficient for flying two to three-seat eVTOL for twenty minutes, newer battery packs will fly five to seven eVTOL seats longer in a few more and beyond. By temporarily using ICE technologies until battery energy density reaches the 500kWh magic threshold, more energy-dense sources of energy will fly eVTOLs further and longer. This also includes electric short take-off and landing (eSTOL) and their conventional take-off and landing (eCTOL) family members. Stay tuned for an article on the difference between all three, operations, technology, and more.

AAM is Now Ready, Are You?

The genius of today’s mobility engineers who braved the unknown technical frontiers never ceases to amaze. Now unshackled by ICE design constraints, engineers can better relocate centers of gravity and eke out efficiency from electric motors. Unlike electric locomotives that use catenaries to transmit electricity to their pantographs, road-bound electric vehicles and electric aircraft must carry their energy with them. This is the energy density revolution we have been witnessing since the early 1990s with lithium chemistries.

We hope this three-part series helps to better appreciate the evolution of human mobility. We stress a very important point, that it takes time, until now, thousands of years to adopt more efficient mobility forms. All things considered, while electric mobility isn’t anything new historically, it has moved, developed, and evolved far quicker than fossil fuels can in the future. We will continue to delve into the exciting world of AAM and the innovative solutions that will propel us into the future. Stay tuned, and welcome back to the human race, where curiosity and bravery pave the way for groundbreaking advancements!