The Power of Electric Flight
In between aviation’s current and future state lies another promising path that includes system electrification and hybrid-electric propulsion. And at Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, experts are squarely focused on leveraging these technologies to create a more efficient, more sustainable future for aviation.
Hybrid-electric propulsion
Hybrid-electric propulsion systems, which combine fuel-burning engines with electric motors and batteries, have the potential to reduce aviation’s environmental impact. These systems can significantly improve aircraft fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions, while also reducing noise and operating costs.
It is estimated that regional aircraft can reduce fuel burn by approximately 30%, when implementing hybrid-electric propulsion architectures. With electric motor and battery system technologies advancing rapidly, experts believe a 50-passenger, hybrid-electric aircraft with a range of 500 nautical miles could be certified in the next 10 years.
Powerful collaboration
Pratt & Whitney Canada and Collins Aerospace, businesses of RTX, are integrating new hybrid-electric propulsion technology into a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 flight demonstrator. Pratt’s fuel-burning engine will be combined with an advanced 1 MW class electric motor from Collins in a hybrid configuration that will optimize engine performance throughout the different phases of flight and demonstrate potential fuel savings of around 30 percent.
Additionally, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Collins Aerospace have been selected by Airbus Helicopters to support the development of a hybrid-electric propulsion system for its PioneerLab technology demonstrator.
For the PioneerLab demo, the helicopter's existing engines will be replaced by a hybrid-electric propulsion system comprised of a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210 engine derivative linked with two Collins Aerospace 250 kW electric motors and controllers through a common gearbox. This hybrid-electric configuration is designed to enable optimized engine performance and improved efficiency, with the electric motors providing high torque capability during flight conditions such as take-off and landing.
"The combined 250 kW motor and controller we're designing for PioneerLab are part of our family of electric motors and controllers that can be scaled up or down to meet the future electrification needs of aircraft across multiple segments," said Henry Brooks, president, Power & Controls for Collins Aerospace.
Taken together, Brooks believes these programs signal a bright future for Collins’ sustainable electric flight objectives.
“Our work on the RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator and the Airbus PioneerLab programs offer significant opportunities to advance hybrid-electric technologies critical to sustainable aviation,” Brooks said. “Our electric motors are integral to the reduced greenhouse gas emissions these initiatives have targeted, and we continue to work with our partners to break new ground in sustainable aviation and move beyond business as usual.”
