For UAVs, battery/electric systems don't just reduce fueling costs. They deliver features unobtainable from hydrocarbon engines: - Extremely long flight endura

For UAVs, battery/electric systems don't just reduce fueling costs. They deliver features unobtainable from hydrocarbon engines: - Extremely long flight endurance without refueling (in large solar/battery UAVs) - Low noise - Odorless - Simpler and cheaper manufacturing The advantages are much less obvious to me for aircraft that transport passengers or significant cargo loads. I suppose that the companies developing them are hoping to make the lifetime total cost of operation cheaper than existing aircraft serving the same niche. That seems much tougher to achieve. EDIT: Bye Aerospace, the company described in the IEEE article, says they are targeting a particular niche: https://byeaerospace.com/eflyer/ https://byeaerospace.com/eflyer/ They intend to replace trainer aircraft that burn leaded aviation gasoline. This polluting niche fuel costs significantly more than kerosene. Maybe the economics can work out for this case.