Why dont airliners use lithium-ion batteries to run the engine on the plane?

Question

Why dont airliners use lithium-ion batteries to run the engine on the plane?

Answer 1

Weight is the primary reason. Jet A fuel (used for airliners) has an energy density of around 43MJ/kg. A lithium-ion battery has an energy density of around 0.25 MJ/kg. Which means, in order do have the equivalent amount of fuel, you would have to have around 170 times as much weight in the batteries as you would in fuel. As it is, a modern airliner can carry anywhere between 40,000 lbs and 700,000 lbs of fuel; for a 100 seat aircraft, that would result in a 6,800,000 lb battery, roughly 5x the weight of the largest aircraft in the world. The plane would not even be able to get off the ground.

Answer 2

Apart from weight, the engines would have to produce a stupid amount of thrust. Eg. The 777 can produce 569kN of thrust on each of its two engines, a total of just over 1100kN... I doubt very much that you would be able to produce that amount of force from Li batteries.

Answer 3

You mean like the one in mommys' cell phone? Gosh. I don't know, I guess those aircraft manufacturers aren't as smart as you!

Answer 4

It works for "toy" aircraft, but lithium technology can be a bit dangerous (remember the lap-top fires a couple of years ago?). I certainly don't want to sit on top of a couple of tons of  lithium chemistry

Answer 5

Won't work.

Answer 6

If I get the question right you mean instead of a gas turbine engine?

They can refill the plane in 15 minutes but never recharge the "mega" numbers of lithium batteries you wil need to deliver the same energy (kW) as a gas turbines engine does.

Answer 7

too heavy man...

Answer 8

And that would provide thrust *how* exactly? I think you need to go look up how jet engines work, and how wings work.

I suppose you could have electric motors with propellers...

Answer 9

Too heavy.

Image the battery a 777 would need to keep everything powered for 14 hours.

Fuel is better my friend.

Answer 10

just exactly how old are you ?