The Best Idea From Siemens: The World's First Hybrid-Electric Airplane

We asked Siemens, the international industry juggernaut, to reveal its most exciting new innovation. Here's what the company selected.

The problem: Air traffic accounts for two percent of CO₂ emissions around the world, and the European Union is locked in an international battle to force airlines to pay for pollution they leave in EU airspace. As cars undergo a hybrid craze, planes need a similar innovation revolution, or else prices and pollution will continue to rise.

Where great ideas really come from. A special report

The idea: This summer, Siemens unveiled the world's first hybrid electric plane -- a two-seater motor glider that completed its first flight in Vienna, Austria. Siemens' aircraft is the only one of its kind in the world, and the first to use a "serial hybrid electric drive," a technology reserved mostly for advanced electric cars, like those produced by Tesla. The small combustion engine uses an electric generator and a super-powered electric motor to drive the propeller.

The potential: Siemens hopes that, as the technology improves to accommodate more small, medium and even large-scale airlines, hybrid planes will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 25 percent over today's most efficient planes, making air travel more sustainable.