NASA is also investing heavily in its X-Series line of environmentally-friendly airplanes. NASA An electric-powered flight could launch from London to Paris in the next ten 10 years if a US startup gets the greenlight.

Wright Electric said on its blog that it has been speaking to airlines for the past few weeks about its electric 150-seater concept — called "Wright One" — which would carry passengers on journeys of less than 300 miles.

"We’re excited to report we have a potential partnership with one airline," the company said. "Also: A high-net-worth individual wants our electric 150-seater as his fifth private jet."

According to the BBC, British low-cost airline Easyjet has expressed interest in the technology, while it remains unknown which individual is interested in building an electric private jet.

"Easyjet has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing an airline operator's perspective on the development of this exciting technology," Wright Electric told the BBC.

Electric planes could result in much cheaper travel due to absence of jet fuel, according to Wright Electric, a company which is backed by start-up incubator programme Y Combinator, which has supported to the likes of Airbnb and Dropbox.

Electric planes could also be "less loud" than a fuel plane, and since batteries could be charged separately, the need for planes to sit on the tarmac while fuel is added would be removed.

A mock-up of the Wright One is shown in the tweet below:

Wright Electric's goal is to make all short-haul flights electric-powered within the next 20 years, according to the BBC, which would account for around 30% of all global flights.

However, the company is relying on innovation in battery technology to continue improving at its current rate, the BBC reported. If it doesn't, the Wright One won't have the power it needs to travel.

The company is currently working with American inventor Chip Yates, owner of the world's fastest electric aircraft, the Long-ESA.

Meanwhile, European company Airbus has been developing the electric two-seater E-Fan plane since 2014, and has also discussed plans to build a 90-seater short haul electric plane.

NASA is also investing heavily in electric planes. In 2016, the US space agency said it had committed $43.5 million (£35 million) over the next 10 years to design and build its X-Series line of environmentally-friendly planes, which have the potential to be sold commercially.