Aircraft Electrical Power Systems - Charged with Opportunities

His statement that "Beyond 2015, aircraft are moving toward complete electric propulsion fuelled by the advent of fuel cell technology" seems absurd. Come on, it IS absurd. "Fascinating"? THINK CRITICALLY!!!
Replacing pneumatically powered pumps with electrical ones due to the thermal inefficiency of these systems plus the reduction in weight and complexity in removing the pneumatic systems, or replacing some flight control drives from hydraulic to electric for redundancy is one thing, but electric - fuel cell powered propulsion? Maybe he meant to say 2115 instead. Not only would the fuel cell itself have to be massive, but the complexities of a hydrogen powered aircraft presents a whole other level of issues.
The 787 is a balancing act of component switch outs. Hundreds of pounds in new equipment is added (motor controllers, and extensive grounding network, additional generators, etc. - while pneumatic components are removed (the entire APU load compressor and all of it's associated pneumatic components - in fact, all of the aircraft's pneumatic components except for engine anti-ice)
The primary means of flight control movement, and other big muscle items (like gear retraction, and flap positioning) remain hydraulic, but since it has been shown that even triple redundant hydraulic systems can all be lost, electrical actuation is provided for 2 pair of spoilers and the horizontal stabilizer for some controllability even with total loss of hydraulics (and all flight control computers, for that matter).
Other weight and mechanical complexities have been reduced by use of a variable-frequency higher-voltage AC generating system (no constant speed drives, and smaller wires) and a computer controlled remote power distribution system that allows shorter wire runs to local use components