Tecnam has suspending developmental work on its P-Volt electric aircraft citing concerns about the ability of current battery technology to guarantee viable storage levels. However, the company is ready to bring the P-Volt back into the type certification as soon as technology evolution allows.
In an official release Technam said: “There is a real concern that after some use, battery capacity would deplete and soon fall below the 170 Wh/kg mark, which would force operators to replace the battery packs and seriously undermine the economic case for electric aviation.”
The nine-seater P-Volt was one of the leading battery-powered all-electric propulsion aircraft to take to the skies around 2026. It was selected by Wideroe to achieve their decarbonisation goals.
Wideroe collaborated with Tecnam and Rolls-Royce to develop the P-Volt for commercial air traffic at a regional and sub-regional scale and in line with Norway’s ambitious decarbonization goal for its aviation industry.
