HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH CO., Pa. — A fast-charging system designed for topping both electric cars and battery-powered planes is coming to Lehigh Valley International Airport, officials said Thursday.
BETA Technologies, an aerospace start-up based in South Burlington, Vermont, plans to install a pair of their “charge cube” systems on the general aviation side of the airport.
One, near Hangar Ten, will be accessible by aircraft. The second will charge cars in the parking lot outside.
The company applied to Hanover Township this week for permits to build the charger, Airport Authority Director of Planning Ryan Meyer said during a meeting of the airport Board of Governors’ business committee.
If installed, the high-speed chargers are much more likely in the near term to power cars than electric aircraft, which are still vanishingly rare.
"We've been talking about [electric aircraft] for years, and it's really interesting to start to see infrastructure going in place."Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority Executive Director Tom Stoudt
Only one manufacturer — Pipestrel — currently sells battery-powered planes in the United States. Sixteen of their electric models are operating nationwide; they require a proprietary charger.
But BETA Technologies and a handful of other companies are working on aircraft of their own, with an eye toward building electric aircraft that take off and land vertically, more like a drone than a fixed-wing jet.
Network to power coming fleet
BETA hopes to get a trimmed-down version of its Alia electric plane — without the ability to take off and land like a helicopter — certified by the Federal Aviation Administration next year.
In the meantime, the company is putting together a network of chargers to power its coming fleet.
So far, BETA Technologies has built 30 charging stations, with five more under construction.
Until there are more battery-powered planes around to charge, the Charge Cube’s CCS connector will gladly feed up to 320 kilowatts of DC power to most non-Tesla electric vehicles.
Users start the flow or power with the BETA Technologies app.
BETA Technologies first approached LVIA about two years ago about installing a charger, airport authority Executive Director Tom Stoudt said.
Stoudt said it’s the first sign of a long-awaited transition in aviation.
“There's certainly interest and certainly demand” for electric aircraft, he said. “We've been talking about it for years, and it's really interesting to start to see infrastructure going in place.”
Representatives for BETA Technologies did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
