Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens team up to develop hybrid aircraft.

[MartinW 0]

"Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens are to develop hybrid electric engine plane technology as part of a push towards cleaner aviation.

The E-Fan X programme will first put an electric engine with three jet engines on a BAe 146 aircraft.

The firms want to fly a demonstrator version of the plane by 2020, with a commercial application by 2030."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42152484

 

 

"We see hybrid-electric propulsion as a compelling technology for the future of aviation," said Paul Eremenko, Airbus' chief technology officer.

 

 

Image copyrightAIRBUS

 

 

Rolls-Royce will be providing the electricity generator at the back of the E-Fan X plane.

It will run on jet fuel and provide power for the electric engine.

Any excess power from the generator will be stored in banks of batteries in the fore and aft holds with the stored energy to be used during take-off and landing.

 

 

Edited November 28, 2017 by MartinW

[wain 879]

sounds interesting,I personally do see the point of hybrid but still not convinced on fully electric......it's a start but still a way to go yet.....like the article said though currently the battery weight and equipment needed to cool the electrics are the limiting factors...

[Captain Coffee 2,030]

Having a turbine powered generator in the fuselage kind of defeats the point in my opinion.

 

Needs to use those turbine engines to power generators, like a true hybrid that uses the gas engine power to run a generator/electric motor as needed.

I'd want to see the two outboard engines using jet fuel, and turning auxiliary generators to power/charge two inner electric motors/battery banks...and i'm not certain there is a point to doing even that...except maybe to  increase fuel efficiency by using only two turbines in flight, and reserving the electric motors for climbs, takeoffs, landing, etc whenever above cruise thrust is necc.

 

This looks like it is less a Hybrid than it is an test bed for an electric airliner motor...which frankly could be tested for thrust/efficiency/longevity much cheaper on the  ground without mucking up an aircraft.

[MartinW 0]

19 hours ago, Captain Coffee said:

Having a turbine powered generator in the fuselage kind of defeats the point in my opinion.

 

This looks like it is less a Hybrid than it is an test bed for an electric airliner motor..

 

 

Well yes. It's a flying test bed, for a hybrid system. Commercial application won't be till 2030.

 

 

Quote

and i'm not certain there is a point to doing even that...except maybe to  increase fuel efficiency by using only two turbines in flight, and reserving the electric motors for climbs, takeoffs, landing, etc whenever above cruise thrust is necc.

 

 

There is certainly a point. Increased fuel efficiency, reduced noise, higher peak power, parallel redundancy. Electric motors provide very high power to weight ratios and rapid and precise control. Combine that with a fuel powered generator tuned and running at peak efficiency and you have a useful technology. 

 

Quote

.which frankly could be tested for thrust/efficiency/longevity much cheaper on the  ground without mucking up an aircraft.

 

 

Well no, it couldn't. They wouldn't be doing this without reason. The engineers/designers responsible see this as required.  Aircraft used as test beds for new engine technology is common. 

 

http://aviationweek.com/blog/ges-new-747-flying-testbed-colors

 

http://aviationweek.com/blog/inside-pratts-new-flying-testbed

 

 

Edited November 29, 2017 by MartinW

[MartinW 0]

20 hours ago, wain said:

sounds interesting,I personally do see the point of hybrid but still not convinced on fully electric......

 

 

Me too. I see it progressing the same way automotive technology has. Hybrid cars are now very common on our roads, we see them every day, and we now see pure electric frequently too. Different application of course, with some different challenges, but I see the same progression. Hybrid will become commonplace in the air and as battery tech continues to advance rapidly, increasing numbers of electric aircraft will join them. It's a technology that's rapidly gaining inertia.