an electric airplane pioneered by rolls-royce has set two new world speed records, making it officially the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft. named ‘spirit of innovation’, the plane reached a top speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 kilometers, and 532.1km/h (330 mph) over 15 kilometers when flown at a test site in the UK. the records have since been certified and officially confirmed by the world air sports federation (FAI).
the achievement marks both an incredible feat of technology and a promising milestone in the transition to electric transportation. it also cements the british company’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
‘staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the accel team and rolls-royce,’ said rolls-royce CEO warren east. ‘I would like to thank our partners and especially electroflight for their collaboration in achieving this pioneering breakthrough. 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 decarbonize transport across air, land and sea.’