Airplane of the future with eight ACCU-powered propellers for cheap travel

A FUTURISTIC plane promises to revolutionize short-haul flying with cheaper and cleaner travel.

Called the Octoplane, the all-electric plane has eight battery-powered propellers and can take you all the way to Switzerland without a drop of fuel.

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Dutch startup Elysian, the makers behind the Octoplane, want to defy conventional thinking that battery-powered planes cannot be big or fly long distances.

That's why the startup's conceptual design is inspired by older, larger aircraft that were built to travel great distances and carry a lot of fuel.

Elysian worked with experts from Delft University of Technology to assess the possibilities for a new approach to electric aircraft.

Reynard de Vries, Elysian's director of design and engineering, said: “We realized that in some of the old design books you actually find information that has never been applied to battery-electric aircraft.”

Octoplane has wider wings and a smaller fuselage than a traditional airplane, which improves aerodynamics.

The wings are so large – with a wingspan of 44 meters – that the tips are designed to fold up so that the plane can fit into the airport gate.

The batteries are mounted on the wings, making use of available space and lightening the aircraft's body.

Elysian wants the super plane to travel almost 500 miles for a fee and carry up to 90 passengers.

A gas reserve system can be used if an aircraft is unexpectedly delayed or takes a different route.

But during a normal trip, the plane can travel 500 miles on batteries alone.

de Vries also explained that studies suggested that all-electric planes could only carry 19 people, because “that's actually based on [only] on a handful of calculations.”

“They said, 'Let's take the best possible short-haul aircraft today, like a good turboprop, and let's try to electrify it. What would happen if I used batteries instead of fuel?'

“And indeed, if you were to look at the numbers on that, you would see that it is a very poor performing aircraft. The range will be limited,” he said.

The Elysian boss believes this can change by redesigning the aircraft rather than trying to modify a simple, modern plane.

He added that having heavy batteries on the wings instead of the body is “very useful from a structural point of view.”

This way, the weight is distributed evenly over the wings instead of weighing down the fuselage.

The team is now working on a number of technological issues, ranging from battery development to power distribution throughout the aircraft.

They plan to deliver an updated design by the end of the year before moving on to more in-depth development.

If all goes well, the first flights could start in 2033.

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