Rolls-Royce develops differentiated power and propulsion technology for all-electric and hybrid-electric Advanced Air Mobility applications. Together with lead customers and partners the first electric subsystems have been designed and are being tested. The prospect to supply innovative power and propulsion systems for novel aviation market segments at scale requires a step change for all processes on the way from prototype to aerospace grade product. Olaf Otto will give insights into Rolls-Royce’s approach to delivering the innovative systems required for powering platforms in hybrid electric flight.

It is not a trivial challenge to reliably predict the future where a number of technical trajectories for zero emissions energy sources and aircraft exist. The relative merits and limitations of synthetic (and drop in fuels), batteries, hydrogen electric and hydrogen combustion will be introduced at energy source, aircraft and operational levels. The outcome of this view on the future highlights cryogenic hydrogen, in particular, hyperconducting, electric propulsion as an exciting and scalable prospect if we work together as an industry.

In recent years, electric aviation has emerged as an exciting new frontier in air travel, promising to revolutionize the industry with cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable aircraft. However, for airlines, the decision to invest in electric aircraft for urban and regional air mobility is not just a matter of environmental impact, but also of economic viability. In this keynote, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of electric aircraft for airlines operating in urban and regional markets. We will examine the factors that impact the economic feasibility of electric aviation, including the cost of batteries, charging infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks. We will also consider the potential benefits of electric aircraft, such as reduced operating costs and increased flexibility in route planning. This keynote will provide insights into the strategic considerations that airlines must weigh when deciding whether to adopt electric aircraft for urban and regional air mobility and a glimpse of the fare charged to passengers, and potential business models for airlines. Attendees will gain a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges of electric aviation from an airline's perspective, and learn how to navigate this exciting and evolving field.

Hybrid-electric propulsion offers considerable potential to improve aircraft efficiency and reduce emissions across a range of different aircraft applications, and thereby support the aviation industry’s goal of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions for air travel by 2050. Remi Robache will draw from Pratt & Whitney Canada’s hybrid-electric flight demonstrator program to explain the opportunities and challenges of this new propulsion concept, and how it intersects with other technologies and alternative fuels, which are required to make aviation more sustainable. Based on a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 experimental aircraft, Pratt & Whitney Canada’s demonstrator program is targeting a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency, compared to today’s most advanced regional turboprop engines.

The development of a CS-25 Class Hybrid H2-Fuel Cell Electric Propulsion System requires a technology maturation and validation program with a multi-level roadmap of design & testing platforms, which ensure verification from the components to the sub-system modules and finally to the aircraft system. This presentation shows a view on architectures and key technology areas under development for such a propulsion system, targeting to support the EU’s SRIA objectives.

In this session, Julian Renz will address the scope of carbon emissions generated by today’s aviation sector and the challenges in emission reduction with existing solutions. He’ll then discuss emerging trends in aviation electrification and specifically cover ZeroAvia’s breakthrough hydrogen-electric powertrain technology for commercial aircraft. Most importantly, Julian will convey how innovations like ZeroAvia’s will impact the aviation industry, what current major airline partners like British Airways and Alaska Airlines are trying to achieve when it comes to sustainability goals, and when we can expect to see large-scale, decarbonised commercial jets in our skies.

As soon as the first commercial aircraft will be entering the market, they will need to be kept airworthy continuously. Changes in legislation will mean new requirements for organisations and workforce. On the other hand, lessons learned and existing infrastructure for continuous airworthiness of existing aircrafts can be used to support electric and hybrid aviation. Ultimately, an aircraft needs to fly and be reliable throughout its lifetime. How do we organize this support in time?

Today, regional aircraft only plays a small role in the aviation landscape. However, the question pops up if energy and propulsion revolutions – such as hydrogen and electric – will bring a game-changing improvement in performance and create substantially higher demand? The specific range and payload requirements in the regional market potentially opens up a wider range of new propulsion technologies than large commercial aircraft, and this might have significant commercial implications. Roland Berger and NLR team up again this year to assess new propulsion technologies for regional aircraft, following our work on other segments in previous years

This presentation will appraise the differences between cryogenic (e.g. Hyperconducting) and conventional fuel cell powertrains and their impact upon the performance and scalability of fuel cell aircraft. The focus of this presentation is the application of PEM fuel cells as well as the application of technologies with the potential for an EIS between 2032 and 2040.

Since its first flight in 2011 the electric aircraft “e-Genius”, built and operated by the University of Stuttgart, has undergone several changes in its energy storage system and the related degree of hybridization. After starting out as a purely battery electric aircraft and flying successfully for several years, it was first outfitted with an external Wankel range extender followed by the currently installed internal full-hybrid system, steadily increasing the degree of hybridisation. The presentation covers the different versions of the aircraft’s propulsion system as well as a comparison of the three power train variants based on actual flight test data. Furthermore, the scalability of the results into the 50-seat regional aircraft class is discussed, comparing it to the latest outcome of related research.

The need for a transition to greener aviation is crucial. For Norway as a nation highly dependent on a well-functioning air transport system, shortening the time it takes to develop, test and roll out more sustainable solutions is of particular importance. To facilitate the change we need to understand how the rest of the aviation ecosystem needs to align to allow for new technologies. We also need to understand how society and the way we think about mobility are affected. At the same time, new groups of stakeholders become important and necessitate collaboration across sectors. How can we work to accomplish accelerated innovation?

Commercial aircraft powered by H2 propulsion systems are currently developed by several companies. However, a cost-competitive fuel supply chain is also required for a successful entry-into-service. In this presentation, the techno-economics of green LH2 supply chains to or at airports are shown and major trends analysed. Furthermore and based on an exemplary air traffic network, the operating costs of H2-powered aircraft are finally determined.

This research implements flexibility into a flight schedule to lower the charging peak power demand of electric aircraft. Additionally, it incorporates the energy provision in terms of renewable energy sources in combination with battery storage. Besides a daily operational model, also an entire year has been subject to an energy balance focused optimization for a case study on Bonaire. Costs were found to be significantly lower than for a fixed flight schedule for an operational day while the yearly model identified the minimum optimized required energy infrastructure. Sensitivity analysis also showed possible airport energy business cases.

Legal constraints on transformations in the transport sector will affect all transport systems. The need for a rapid switch to renewable energies hits aviation at a vulnerable point: supply at the landing site. With the exception of large airports, the numerous airfields will not be able to absorb the rapidly emerging demand for H2 and electricity with common measures. For this purpose, EGS is developing a scalable, mobile, decentralized storage-based supply system that uses existing, preferably renewable, green energy sources to ensure that airfields, which are still technically underdeveloped, can meet the future requirements of VTOLs and short-range aircraft.

Which Lithium-ion battery technology is best suited for today’s wide range of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) e-Aviation applications requirements? How can prospective battery technologies offer uncompromised levels of safety and reliability when required to deliver concurrently high-power discharge capabilities, high specific energy requirements, and a high number of cycles? This paper proposes a review of some of the lithium-ion technology candidates best capable to meet the demanding and challenging applications found in e-aviation today.

For a battery, the charging phase is even more significant and relevant for safety than the discharging phase is. Therefore, a systematic approach to safety that considers all battery operation modes and involved aircraft components is required in order to certify a propulsion battery. The first EASA certified onboard charger, as introduced by Lange Aviation, is used as an example in order to present various challenges linked to the charging of a propulsion battery. Safety aspects of inflight battery charging, as experienced with recuperating and hybrid propulsion systems, are also discussed.

Li-ion propulsion batteries are becoming more common in new electric aircraft powertrain systems. The challenges in ensuring continuous safe flight during a battery fire event are significantly harder in aerospace compared to ground electric vehicles. The certification and regulations of batteries in aerospace are still evolving and will be discussed. Research into the topic of battery thermal runaway was conducted to gain insight into the problem. First principles engineering approach is applied to analyse battery thermal runaway events and suggest guidelines for battery thermal abuse designs.

Electrification of propulsion systems demands batteries with long cycle lives, a high energy density, and rapid rechargeability. Battery temperature plays a major role in all three, significantly reducing the battery’s operating performance and capacity, in addition to introducing safety and stability concerns. Therefore, effective thermal management is a key factor in enabling the adoption of all-electric aircraft. The conventional approach to thermal management merely entails the prevention of overheating. However, as will be laid out in this presentation, it can instead be leveraged to optimize the performance, safety, and durability of hybrid-electric propulsion systems for UAVs and UAM.

We will be building upon the work done on the UK Regional Air Mobility Index to explore the number of viable air mobility routes in the UK. This will focus specifically on regional air mobility for fixed-wing electric and hydrocarbon aircraft, and identify opportunities for airports and operators. This investment-grade analysis will support any business plan and help secure funding for original equipment manufacturers, operators, and infrastructure providers.

Rolls-Royce develops differentiated power and propulsion technology for all-electric and hybrid-electric eVTOLs and fixed-wing aircraft. Together with lead customers and partners, electric propulsion units have been designed, taking the specific requirements of different flight applications and missions into account. With the goal of certification within the next few years, their designs feature lightweight topology, novel thermal management solutions and highest integration levels while aiming at meeting highest safety standards. The presentation will give an overview of the systems under design and their unique technological attributes, and update on progress in the test labs.

In the next decades, eVTOL/AAM systems will likely become essential tools for public service missions worldwide. However, public service infrastructure requirements could differ from UAM and personal/corporate operations. For fixed-base operations like local fire departments and EMS, a small takeoff/landing site near or at the station with charging capability works best; but for disaster response, humiliation aid, or fighting wildfire, dynamically allocatable assets and infrastructures are essential. For military applications, on-demand, fast-deployable platforms and infrastructures are necessary. Dynamically deployable infrastructures include mobile megawatt-charging systems (air/ground transportable), command & control, temporary vertiports, dynamic air space management, weather data link, and spare/maintenance network.

This presentation will share Evolito's learnings of how to gain a system level advantage from next-generation electric propulsion architectures, and how these can accelerate the development of the eVTOL industry

The progression of the electric and hybrid Air Mobility will be reviewed in line with of the implementation of Autonomous operation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) utilization. Entry into service roadmap will be presented for different classes of aircraft. Major obstacles for entry will be shown and quantified based on the platform's progression. Powertrain selection and rational for different vehicles will be included. Provisions for improvements and further progression will be presented and quantified. The progress is heavily dependent on an aggressive AI and autonomy use. Important conclusions will be summarized at the end.

Rolls-Royce develops differentiated electrical power and propulsion technology for both eVTOLs and fixed-wing aircraft. With the need for longer range and increased power, fully battery-electric solutions reach their limits. Together with partners, Rolls-Royce is therefore exploring different novel aircraft architectures including using fuel cells as energy storage and a turbogenerator for power generation during flight. The presentation will feature comparisons of different architectural designs, give updates on progress in the development of scalable turbogenerator technology and an outlook on moving fuel cell hybrid-electric flight forward.

Why will hybrid propulsion be a paradigm shift for general aviation? Is the pure battery-only propulsion a viable solution with the current state of the art for battery systems? Clean sheet design versus refurbishment (pros and cons). Certification requirements (and challenges) for sustainable aircraft (CS23). How does a hybrid aeroplane compare in terms of cost of ownership as compared to today’s best-in-class?

Electra has developed and tested a hybrid-electric propulsion system to power its blown-lift eSTOL aircraft, able to take off and land within the size of a soccer field. The hybrid system consists of a turbogenerator and battery pack powering 8 distributed electric propulsors arranged along the leading edge of the wing. This arrangement results in a multiplication of lift generated at slow speed, giving the aircraft the ability to lift off and land within 2-3 vehicle lengths. Electra has demonstrated this effect in prior wind tunnel tests and at sub-scale. Electra has recently integrated the hybrid system into its 2-seat technology demonstrator and will begin flight testing by Q3 2023. This presentation will discuss learnings and insights from the integration and test of the hybrid propulsion system. Electra’s future product is a 9-seat version of its eSTOL aircraft.

Recently the 1MW class electric motors and generators have become one of the key technologies that support the goals of hybrid electric propulsion such as driving overall system efficiencies as high as possible while reducing system weight by increasing the power density and system simplicity. This presentation compares the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of efficient, high-power density 1MW class electric machines based on Permanent Magnet and Wound Field technologies. Honeywell has an unparalleled generator and motor range for aerospace, based on more than 100 years of innovation and product development and has recently demonstrated an aerospace grade 1MW electric machine.

Today, simulation is a key part of product engineering. It enables engineers to rapidly and cost-effectively test and validate their designs. Today, most companies perform their engineering simulation on custom-built on-premises compute clusters. Finding that on-premises clusters are limiting in many ways, many companies are actively migrating their engineering simulation workloads to the cloud. The cloud provides access to vast computing resources on-demand, providing elasticity and lower cost, enabling simulation engineers to run more simulations quicker, thus expediting the innovation process. This talk presents insights into how to scale simulations in the cloud, along with customer case studies.

Traditionally water-brakes or eddy-current retarders are used to load turbo-prop and turbo-shaft engines in development- or routine-testing. While water-brakes have limited dynamics, require eddy-current retarders power-electronics for dynamic control. However, their low inertia allows testing with a representative mass-elastic load side. Electric variable speed drives offer the highest dynamic control even at very large powers, however, motors come with significant rotational inertia. By employing modern control schemes for active inertia compensation and torsional damping, a 9000hp/6.7MW industrial drive was turned into a regenerative dynamometer. The challenges in motion control are presented, as well as practical experience from its commercial operation.

The most promising opportunities to improve aircraft efficiency and overall sustainability are in electrified propulsion concepts. These are designed and assessed virtually using simulation software. Here, the right amount of detail is required to allow informed decision making. It is however slow and expensive to introduce superfluous detail. This presentation summarizes some typical choices in representing key components of propulsion concepts ranging from hybrid electric to hydrogen electric aircraft, and describes how their strengths and limitations cascade to aircraft-level projections.

Discover the next-generation aerospace design and testing workflows. Learn how hardware-in-the-loop testing accelerates testing and certification of more electric or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. We’ll provide examples of actual certification processes and an overview of the tools and methods used to save time during the design verification phase. In addition, you will learn more about battery testing, cell emulation, and powertrain development using Simulink Real-Time and Speedgoat real-time target machines.

The technological shift towards electric or hydrogen propulsion and more electric aircraft in general greatly benefits us all by enabling clean and sustainable aviation, but also introduces new challenges in its development process. The growing complexity of the electrical architecture onboard aircraft requires additional control software and in-depth verification. However, development activities are usually distributed across different organizations. Thus, integration testing becomes increasingly challenging. Flexible virtualization strategies are required to cope with these challenges. This session will show how HIL testing on power level can help avoid bottlenecks in development by emulating batteries and electric machines at different operating conditions.