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Re:Observation-based early-warning signals for a collapse of... by gambiting on Friday August 06, 2021 @08:39AM (#28086313)
Not with Lithium-Ion tech, no. But aluminum-air batteries provide an order of magnitude higher densities of energy(~1300Wh/kg), and should be able to power a large-ish plane. The main problem being of course that aluminum air batteries are not rechargable, but all you'd need to do is swap the spent aluminium rods at the airport and replace them with fresh ones - then use renewable energy nearby to melt and reform the aluminium rods to be used again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium%E2%80%93air_battery

Re:Observation-based early-warning signals for a collapse of... by cableshaft on Friday August 06, 2021 @09:05AM (#28086597)
Interesting. I'm surprised I didn't hear that solution mentioned in Bill Gates "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" book.

He basically made the same battery weight argument and was pushing for alternative biofuels for planes, if I remember correctly. And that was just published earlier this year, and seemed pretty comprehensive about discussing all possible solutions, at least as far as I could tell.

Maybe just because it's (presumably) nowhere near the point where it could be feasible for commercial passenger planes?