Recognitions:
Gold Member

## X Prize Clean Aviation: $10 million An MIT collaboration with the X Prize foundation may soon release a proposal for a fastest coast to coast flight using only electric power. Reporter’s Notebook: How to spur energy storage innovations I am thinking some of the electric ducted fan technology discussed here, and some very high end battery technology is the key, probably primary batteries if they allow it. I'll follow up later.  Imagine flying all the way from coast to coast, completely guilt-free, in an airplane that doesn’t emit a single particle of greenhouse gas or air pollutants. That could happen someday, perhaps brought to reality thanks to the incentive of a$10 million prize that has been proposed by a team of MIT students. [...] The X-Prize Lab@MIT, a collaboration between the Institute and the X-Prize Foundation aimed at creating concepts for new prizes, led by instructor Erika Wagner of the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, just completed its third semester-long class devoted to developing new prize ideas. This time, the subject was energy storage, and the final presentations by the four teams of students in the class were held on Friday, Dec. 11. Graduate students Daniel Codd (mechanical engineering), Wendelin Michel (AeroAstro), and Paul Tu (MIT Sloan School of Management) proposed the “Clean Aviation” X-Prize. The concept, they explained, would be to hold a race from California to New York, in which all the competing planes would have to be powered entirely by electricity and produce no emissions. The planes would be allowed two stops during the journey, which would have to be completed within 24 hours. The first to cross the finish line would get a $7.5 million prize, while the plane that covered the longest distance on a single leg of the flight would win$2.5 million. [...] this is not the first proposal for a green-aviation challenge, it’s the only one requiring an all-electric, emissions-free system. The plan calls for holding the race three years after the contest is announced, and then if no team is able to complete the challenge, holding a second contest two years later for a reduced prize. “It would be open to all possible entrants, from people working in a garage to Boeing.” [...] Ultimately, the decision about which, if any, of these proposals will be launched as X-Prize competitions rests with the X-Prize Foundation itself. The foundation was created and is run by Peter Diamandis ’83, SM ’88, who initially set it up to administer the first X-Prize, which led to back-to-back flights into space by the one-person rocket called SpaceShipOne, in 2004. The successor to that craft, the eight-person SpaceShipTwo, was unveiled last week and is expected to begin carrying ordinary citizens (and quite a few celebrities) into space in about two years, ushering in a new era in space transportation. [...]

 PhysOrg.com science news on PhysOrg.com >> Heat-related deaths in Manhattan projected to rise>> Dire outlook despite global warming 'pause': study>> Sea level influenced tropical climate during the last ice age
 Recognitions: Gold Member From earlier pondering, I considered a Bombardier CRJ900, modified with ducted fans, at 12 kWh(41k BTUs) per mile based on its gross range data given a full load of fuel. Perhaps that could be cut that in half for a more efficient, slower, jet aircraft appropriate for this contest, or 6 kWh (21k BTUs )per mile? Distance for the contest is ~2500 miles, with two stops allowed, or ~850 miles per leg, 5100 kWh (17.4 million BTU )per leg. Zinc-air non rechargeable batteries achieve about 0.5 kWh per kg, giving ~11 metric tons of battery per trip leg. However, power density of metal air batteries is low, at least for commercial models. This 11 m ton pack would provide only 1.1 MW. Ducted fan concept:
 This prize seems to ignore the realities of energy storage issues. Everyone under the sun in the UAV world is trying to get high energy electric systems. I do not see what this prize is supposed to do, it's certainly not going to 'start' people thinking about electric. As for your post above, does a 'superconducting motor replaces turbine' exist outside of the imagination?

Recognitions:
Gold Member