The Weird ‘Plane-Thing’ Ready To Revolutionise Carbon-Neutral Transport
Regent’s seagliders could be the ultimate EV transport
We have a problem. By 2050 humanity needs to be carbon neutral if it doesn’t want to experience the horrors of extreme climate change. This has spurred on the speedy adoption of electric cars, solar and wind power and even widespread veganism, all in an attempt to save the planet. But our ships and planes aren’t able to have their own electric revolution and are stuck in the past. However, a company called Regent is resurrecting Cold War technology that could make planes and ships obsolete. Welcome to the insane world of seagliders.
So, why can’t ships or planes go electric? Well, our technology can’t offer long enough ranges at a sensible price. Take the fully electric ferry, Rygerelektra. It only has a range of 58 miles when traveling at a measly 17 knots and it needs a 2 MWh battery pack to achieve this! That is the same size battery as 20 Tesla Model S’s. This makes it expensive, heavy, and really impractical. It is the same in problem with aviation. Planes are so weight-sensitive they can’t have massive battery packs so they are limited to tiny ranges. Take NASA’s X-57 Maxwell with its little 100 mile range and its teeny payload capacity of barely two people.
