Electric aircraft engines can now be certified for flight

The US Federal Aviation Administration has created new safety rules for electric aircraft engines. This means that companies can now get their electric engines certified for use in planes, something that was not possible under old rules.

For decades, aircraft engines were all variations on the same basic combustion design. Regulators had no way to assess the safety of something fundamentally different, like an electric motor. This change means that electric propulsion for aircraft can now move from prototypes to actual commercial deployment. It opens the door for new types of aircraft that rely on electric power.