AMNA NAWAZ: Earlier this month, the Federal# Aviation Administration approved the first## training program in the country for# electric aviation.

The program is just## one part of a small, but burgeoning# effort to develop greener air travel.

Our aviation correspondent,# Miles O'Brien, has that report.

MAN: Be great.

Be great.

MILES O'BRIEN: It was game day for Nate Moyer,## a former Air Force test pilot.

He was cool as a# cucumber, facing uncharted airspace ahead.

His## goal?

Fly a new kind of battery-powered# aircraft through a tricky transition.

MAN: Safe area is clear.

Pattern is all yours.

MILES O'BRIEN: It lifted off like a helicopter,## but then he stopped the vertical rotors,# turning the craft into an airplane.

It's called an electric vertical take-off and# landing aircraft, or eVTOL.

It was a pivotal## moment for a company that hopes to lead the# transition away from fossil-fueled flight.

KYLE CLARK, Founder and CEO, Beta Technologies:# I felt like my purpose was to fly.

MILES O'BRIEN: Engineer and avid# aviator Kyle Clark is the founder## and CEO of Beta Technologies,# based in Burlington, Vermont.

KYLE CLARK: Somewhere around 30 years# old, I, like, had this realization,## like, damn.

I do genuinely care not only# about my own kids, but the future of the## world.

And that's when I realized that the# electric aviation had an outsized importance.

MILES O'BRIEN: Right now, aviation# accounts for about 3 percent of## greenhouse gas emissions globally.

But# as airline travel increases and other## transportation sectors get greener, that piece# of the climate emergency pie is growing fast.

Is aviation responding quickly# enough to this challenge?

KYLE CLARK: In my view, aviation# absolutely isn't responding quick enough.

MILES O'BRIEN: That's because aviation# remains skeptical of electric flight.## Lithium ion batteries are about 24 times# heavier than jet fuel for the same amount## of energy.

That might seem like a showstopper# for an industry obsessed with weight watching.

But the energy density of new# lithium ion batteries improves## between 5 and 7 percent annually,# doubling about every seven years.

KYLE CLARK: That means, if we start# development today on a 19-, 30-,## 60-passenger aircraft, it will be# flying 1,300 to 1,500 miles by 2032.

MILES O'BRIEN: The Beta craft is designed to# carry cargo or five passengers, plus pilot,## with a range of about 250 nautical miles.

In October of 2023, a fixed-wing version# flew more than 2,000 miles to the Florida## Panhandle.

Flight test engineer Emma# Davis coordinated the multileg journey.

EMMA DAVIS, Beta Technologies: You# can get in it, you can fly in it,## you can carry cargo in it.

This aircraft# isn't a gimmick.

It is a real-world## aircraft.

It is reliable.

It can be ready# and available to pick up missions as needed.

MILES O'BRIEN: Proving that is why# they brought the eVTOL here to Duke## Field.

This is where the air force# does its helicopter flight testing.

The Pentagon is interested in seeing# how well eVTOLs might suit its needs## in moving personnel, cargo or on medevac missions.

Colonel Tom Meagher is with the# Air Force innovation lab AFWERX.

COL. TOM MEAGHER, AFWERX: So the# things that we want to learn is,## how do you operate an electric aircraft?

So# that includes not only the infrastructure,## but the maintenance personnel,# operations, the charging.

We want## to learn about all those facets that we# previously don't have experience with.

MILES O'BRIEN: Over the course of# three months, they flew about 100## test missions to civilian and military# airports in Florida, Georgia and Alabama,## testing its performance in the# air and attached to chargers.

It had a near-100 percent dispatch rate.

The# Pentagon hopes to bolster a flourishing homegrown## electric aviation industry.

A decade ago, the# Federal Aviation Administration moved too slowly,## and China took the lead on commercial# drone technology.

It has not looked back.

COL. TOM MEAGHER: We want to make sure that# did not happen with this part of the emerging## aviation sector.

So it was critical that we# established these companies within the U.S.,## so that we have them not only for# near-term use, but also down the## line for not only government use,# but also commercial use cases.

MILES O'BRIEN: But when it comes to electric# aviation, China is not slowing down.

The country## dominates lithium ion battery production and has# already certified one fixed-wing electric airplane## and two eVTOL models; eVTOL manufacturers are# designing their aircraft to be flown autonomously,## but it is far from certain when the Federal# Aviation Administration might approve that.

So, at first, Beta's aircraft will fly with a# pilot on board, carrying cargo.

UPS is a customer,## as is United Therapeutics, a biotech company# focused partly on organ transplantation.## Eventually, Beta envisions unpiloted# missions, carrying both cargo and passengers.

KYLE CLARK: This prop right here, obviously,## it's not pushing a motor or# an engine, so it spins freely.

MILES O'BRIEN: Kyle Clark gave me a# tour of Beta's production facility,## where they aim to build 300 aircraft a# year, a big number in the world of aviation.

KYLE CLARK: We have aspirations of building# more aircraft than that.

There's a lot of## folks in this industry that are talking# about thousands of aircraft per year,## and we believe we're going to get there as well.

MILES O'BRIEN: One of the market# leaders in the U.S., Santa Cruz,## California-based, Joby, is aiming# to build thousands of eVTOL aircraft## that could serve as flying taxis# in traffic-strangled megacities.

JOEBEN BEVIRT, Founder and CEO, Joby# Aviation: We're excited about the day## when this becomes part of people's daily lives.

MILES O'BRIEN: JoeBen Bevirt# is the founder and CEO of Joby.

JOEBEN BEVIRT: Our goal is# absolutely to drive it down## over time to something that's affordable# for many people to use on a regular basis.

MILES O'BRIEN: Delta Air Lines has invested $60# million in Joby.

The airline envisions flying its## customers on Joby eVTOLs to and from the three# existing heliports in Manhattan to JFK Airport.

But Delta CEO Ed Bastian says his company also# invested to learn about electric flight and how## it could be applied to reach Delta's 2050# net carbon zero goal for its entire fleet.

ED BASTIAN, CEO, Delta Air Lines:# It's highly ambitious.

If I said I## had a pathway to that, I'd be kidding# myself.

We're a hard-to-abate sector,## as defined.

I mean, we just don't have# a substitute for jet fuel currently.

MILES O'BRIEN: The race to find a# practical alternative will force## federal regulators to explore and grasp# some technologies that are new to aviation.

Michael Huerta was the FAA# administrator from 2013 to## 2018.

He now sits on the boards of Joby and Delta.

MICHAEL HUERTA, Former Federal Aviation# Administration Administrator: It's not going## to be sufficient to say, thi.. about, what are new ways to get aircraft# certified, to get pilots into the system,## and to enable operations for what will be# a growing segment of the aviation industry?

MILES O'BRIEN: But there could# be a solution that would reduce## aviation's carbon footprint in the# near-term while it charts a course## to a truly carbon-zero future.

And the grease# in this dumpster is a key part of that story.

We will serve up more on# that in our next installment.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm# Miles O'Brien in Boston.