The inferiority of batteries as energy sources compared with aviation fuel is widely accepted. Yet electric aviation startups continue to push the envelope of what battery-powered aircraft can achieve.

A German startup plans to demonstrate the weight-saving structural integration of a battery system into a wing as the first step toward developing a nine-passenger all-electric regional airliner with a range of 270 nm.

The flight, which marked the first time Roc had flown at altitudes required for effective launch trajectories of Stratolaunch’s Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle, lasted just over three hours.

Boeing is modifying a 777-200ER into a testbed for 30 new technologies in the latest campaign of the company’s 10-year-long ecoDemonstrator evaluation program.

DARPA has launched a new project that sees a fresh role for the U.S. Air Force fleet of aerial tankers as airborne recharging points for networks of electric-powered UAS by adding a wing-mounted laser pod.

Building on its involvement in a UK project that set a speed record for electric aircraft, energy storage specialist Electroflight has introduced a battery system designed to be available off the shelf for use in the early development of electric aircraft.

As it prepares to launch its Airspeeder racing series, Australia’s Alauda Aeronautics says it plans to develop a supercar-style high-performance eVTOL vehicle for private owners.

Shield AI, an artificial intelligence startup targeting the aerospace and defense market, announced on June 9 it had garnered $90 million in private-equity issuance and $75 million in new debt as part of a Series E fund-raising round.