The More Electric Aircraft: the past and the future?

The concept of the More/All Electric Aircraft, where the majority/all of the aircraft's secondary power needs are supplied in an electrical form, is far from new. There have been almost continual studies and demonstrations of the technologies and equipment required over the past 20 years and yet we are still to see a More Electric Aircraft (MEA) enter service. Is the MEA concept to remain a concept for the future or is its adoption immanent and, if so, what has changed to make its adoption more likely in the near future? This paper aims to give a brief history of the MEA concept to provide a context for the papers covering current work that follow. It also is intended to put forward some of the reasons why the author believes aircraft using the concept are likely in the near future.