With standard cruising altitude of commercial aircraft at around 11,000 metres, air temperature can drop to below -50 degrees Celsius. At these altitudes, ice can easily form on the wings of aircraft – with current systems preventing ice build-up by using heat from fuel.
However, with the feasibility of electric aircraft gaining traction across the globe, aerospace engineers have been rethinking the conventional methods of ice-proofing next-generation aircraft. Research from physicists at Northwestern Polytechnical University in China and Iowa State University have been engaged in cutting-edge research using plasma actuators – a particular type of short electrical circuit.
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190401133032.htm