Move aside electric cars, another disruption set to occur in the next decade is being ignored in current Australian transport infrastructure debates: electric aviation. 

Electric aircraft technology is rapidly developing locally and overseas, with the aim of potentially reducing emissions and operating costs by over 75 per cent. Other countries are already planning for 100 per cent electric short-haul plane fleets within a couple of decades.

Australia relies heavily on air transport. The country has the most domestic airline seats per person in the world. We have also witnessed flight passenger numbers double over the past 20 years.

By Jake Whitehead and Michael Kane

Jake Whitehead is a research fellow at the University of Queensland. Michael Kane is a research associate at Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.