  Improvements in rechargeable batteries are enabling several electric urban
air mobility (UAM) aircraft designs with up to 300 miles of range with payload
equivalents of up to 7 passengers. We find that novel UAM aircraft consume
between 130 Wh/passenger-mile up to ~1,200 Wh/passenger-mile depending on the
design and utilization, relative to an expected consumption of over 220
Wh/passenger-mi for terrestrial electric vehicles and 1,000 Wh/passenger-mile
for combustion engine vehicles. We also find that several UAM aircraft designs
are approaching technological viability with current Li-ion batteries, based on
the specific power-and-energy while rechargeability and lifetime performance
remain uncertain. These aspects highlight the technological readiness of a new
segment of transportation.
