Electric planes aim to soar high for cleaner aviation sector

Ajdovscina, Slovenia

ULTRA-light, fast and cheap: more than a century after the Wright brothers flew the world's first powered aircraft, a small Slovenian company now hopes to revolutionise the aviation industry with its award-winning electric planes.

Pipistrel's pioneering Taurus Electro is seen as a breath of fresh air in a sector responsible for 13 per cent of CO2 emissions from all transport sources.

Launched in 2007, around 20 orders are now put in every year for the two-seater plane, which is produced in a factory in the town of Ajdovscina, close to the Italian border.

The 110,000-euro (S$167,239) price tag is offset by the plane's inexpensive maintenanc…