A conceptual design and feasibility study of a lithium–air battery electric narrowbody aircraft with 700 nm range

Abstract

This work investigates the feasibility of a fully electric narrowbody commercial aircraft based on the Airbus A320 platform. The study adopts solid-state lithium–air batteries at 1,150 Wh/kg. A conventional tube-and-wing configuration with eight spanwise-distributed electric propulsors is developed through an iterative sizing convergence loop coupling the constraint diagram, mass build-up, wing geometry, and mission simulation. Sensitivity analyses are conducted across wingspan, cruise altitude, cruise Mach number, and battery energy density. The optimised design converges to a 52 m wingspan (ICAO Code D), an initial cruise altitude of 25,000 ft, and a cruise Mach number of 0.5.   At these conditions, the 700 nm design range, is achieved with a maximum take-off weight of 88.8 tonnes, a battery and oxygen system mass of 29.0 tonnes, and a positive remaining cargo volume of 35.3 m. The manufacturing carbon deficit relative to a conventional A320 propulsion system is recovered within approximately 104 flights against the A320neo under a near-renewable charging grid, roughly two weeks of typical utilisation. Against the world average 2025 grid, break-even is 196 flights, approximately one month of operation. Over a 20-year service life, the aircraft cuts lifetime CO₂ emissions by 93 % against the A320neo on a near-renewable grid. The electric aircraft is cheaper per flight at all historically observed jet fuel prices, achieving a 25% reduction in direct operating cost and a 15 % reduction in 20-year total cost of ownership at baseline assumptions. Whilst there are still significant barriers such as safety and battery technology readiness this work highlights the potential of electric flight to achieve improvements in both environmental impact and flight cost compared with current aircraft.