Sustainability
The only reason SH8 is not electric is because the power density of batteries is too low as yet.
However, we arguably still have a much smaller operational carbon footprint than electric and here's how.
The argument of electric vs IC engines wins hands-down only with automobiles on roads since in IC engines most of the fuel is burning to keep the engine on and not necessarily to move the car efficiently. But in the air there's no energy wasted. Further, consider this:
Net Zero
The IC engine powering our system is compatible to be used with ethanol which is a fuel that can achieve Net Zero emissions.
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Our design is such that when the power density in a battery increases to mitigate the 2 issues highlighted next, we'll simply swap our IC engine with an electric system to power the same hydraulics.
Charging
Electric cars give a range of 400-1000km per charge which could take a week to a month to use up, depending on how you drive it.
eVTOLs give a range of 20mins to 1-2 hours max. So the amount of charging required daily makes it fairly power intensive which too has a large carbon footprint.
Discarding Batteries
The batteries in electric cars need to be replaced after 5 years or so. For Air mobility, these need to be replaced monthly or every few months. Because if they're charged after every 30mins or so, they'll exhaust the life cycles quickly and need to be replaced often. Consider the annual eWaste and the carbon footprint of producing new batteries.
For this industry. "e" is just not a holistic solution, yet.