The Telegraph reports that Airbus' Head of Electrification, Karim Mokaddem, said that the first aircraft that could use the hybrid propulsion system could be the Airbus 320's successor, which will be the development model for the rest of the line-up.

Making a scalable architecture for all types of aircraft is a more economical way of developing this innovative technology, similar to how companies in the automotive industry make new electrified models.

"When it comes to batteries and electrical parts, we will have to compete with a market that is much bigger than the one we're in today. The beauty of a modular approach is that we can work with the automotive sector and enjoy the benefits of volume production", Mokaddem added.

An all-electric approach wouldn't work for the Airbus A320 model, let alone for the larger planes of the family and Airbus now explores the possibility of using hydrogen as clean fuel for the engines powering them, but until them, engineers believe that hybrid propulsion is the best solution.

Battery-powered engines could be suitable for things such as taxiing or at certain times during flight, when the jet-powered units are idling to save energy.

Still, compared to cars, airplanes deal with multiple safety and efficiency concerns, as Airbus' representative explains. In case of an emergency, a car can be quickly evacuated, but the same can't be said about passengers flying at 11.000 meters. Also, planes can't use regenerative braking, like cars, so flying with empty batteries on board will add extra weight and cost per flight.