Only two months after completing its maiden flight, the Rolls-Royce all-electric ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aircraft has set what the company hopes will be recorded as a new speed record, making the prototype the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft.
Rolls-Royce has submitted recent data from a flight made by the Spirit of Innovation to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) – the World Air Sports Federation who control and certify world aeronautical and astronautical records.
It says that on November 16, 2021, the Spirit of Innovation reached a top speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 kilometres, obliterating the previous record by 213.04 km/h (132mph).
The Spirit of Innovation completed further runs at the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down experimental aircraft testing site in which it achieved 532.1km/h (330 mph) over 15 kilometres – 292.8km/h (182mph) faster than the previous record – and also broke the fastest time to climb to 3,000 metres by 60 seconds with a time of 202 seconds.
During these already record-breaking runs, the Spirit of Innovation also clocked a maximum speed of 623 km/h (387.4 mph) which Rolls-Royce believes makes the Spirit of Innovation as the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft in the world.
“Staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce,” said Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce.
“The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this program has exciting applications for the Advanced Air Mobility market.
“Following the world’s focus on the need for action at COP26, this is another milestone that will help make ‘jet zero’ a reality and supports our ambitions to deliver the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonise transport across air, land and sea.”
The Spirit of Innovation took to the skies in its record-breaking runs with a 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain and the most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace.
“Flying the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ at these incredible speeds and believing we have broken the world-record for all-electric flight is a momentous occasion,” said Phill O’Dell, Rolls-Royce director of flight operations and the company’s test pilot.
“This is the highlight of my career and is an incredible achievement for the whole team. The opportunity to be at the forefront of another pioneering chapter of Rolls-Royce’s story as we look to deliver the future of aviation is what dreams are made of.”
“Rolls-Royce’s revolutionary Spirit of Innovation aircraft is yet more proof of the UK’s enviable credentials when it comes to innovation,” said Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK’s secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy.
“This record will show the potential of electric flight and help to unlock the technologies that could make it part of everyday life. The government is proud to back projects like this to leverage the private investment necessary to unlock cleaner, greener aircraft which will allow people to fly as they do now, but in a way that cuts emissions.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.