Though the E-Fan X Airbus and Rolls-Royce collaboration would occur seven years later in 2017, the true beginnings of Airbus’ electric plane program started in 2010, with the development of the CriCri, the world’s first fully electric four-engine airplane.
The CriCri was smaller than the commercial aircraft design of the E-Fan X. A fully electric, four-engine, single-pilot aircraft, the CriCri would go on to inspire future Airbus electric aircraft prototypes like the e-Genius, E-Fan 1.0, and E-Fan 1.1.
With each iteration, Airbus was learning more about electric flight and the potential for electric planes to one day replace traditional jet fuel engines altogether, with the E-Fan X serving as the planned first example of a commercial jetliner powered, at least in part, by an electric engine.
Unlike the E-Fan X, these projects resulted in a tangible airplane that took flight. On July 10, 2015, the E-Fan 1.1 would cross the English Channel, departing from France’s Aquitaine region to Lydd, England, for a 37-minute flight.
