The little tech firm gunning for an airspeed record
The Electric NXT or E-NXT is a single-seater aircraft developed by Electroflight and the aerospace giant Rolls-Royce that they hope will soon break the world speed record for an electric aircraft by travelling at more than 480km/h (300mph). The current record stands at 342km/h (213mph).
For Rolls-Royce the project (which it calls Accel) is part of a broader effort to develop technology that will reduce the environmental impact of flying.
It has been working with Electroflight on E-NXT for three years, spending £6m ($8.3m; €7m) to develop the cutting edge technology needed for the record run.
Many of the 20-strong engineering team working at Electroflight's hangar have backgrounds in motor racing, and managing director Stjohn Youngman comes from the sports car industry. For him, the connection with performance cars was crucial when Electroflight approached Rolls-Royce with its idea three years ago.
"In aerospace, electrification was a brand new technology - and it's quite daunting to take that on from a traditional background.
