Electric aircraft: a review of challenges and emerging technologies

Electric aircraft offer the potential of sustainable aviation, but technological constraints necessitates adoption of more complex hybrid electric architectures in the near term. This review provides a synthesis of recent literature across six interdependent technology domains, mapping cross-dimensional trade-offs and constraints, to reveal why this paradox exists and what must change to resolve it. Analysis of energy storage, propulsion, charging infrastructure, supporting systems and economics uncovers the constraints. A 27-fold gap in specific energy between fuel and lithium-ion batteries limits range, making even marginal efficiency gains critical, but introduces complexity. Megawatt-scale charging requires infrastructure investment that neither airports nor airlines can manage alone. Rather than converging on a single solution, the future electric aircraft fleet may become heterogeneous, with different architectures serving different missions. This review concludes that technology alone is insufficient, and resolving the electrification of aviation requires coordinated action among policymakers, industry, and researchers to address the key issues.