A Belgian multinational company has developed a fault-tolerant drive for electric brushless DC motors that can be used in various applications. Their intent is to build a demonstrator and achieve a successful TRL6 to achieve greater flight autonomy with decarbonized and quiet propulsion. The intent is to design and develop a hybrid-electric powertrain to meet these requirements, powered by green energy fuel cells, and incorporate it into an existing propulsion platform for flight testing.
Details:
The European Green Deal favors efforts to decarbonize aircraft, creating a unique framework for the development of innovative propulsion solutions. Currently, both drones and electric propulsion pods are limited in terms of flight duration and range due to the limited autonomy of batteries. Customers demand urgent and safe delivery of packages over long distances by transport drones that are not affected by congestion. Other customers want to detect defects in electrical lines or wind turbine blades by Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) inspection drones that can fly for an entire day without needing to recharge. People living around airports are sensitive to aircraft noise and ask for quiet. New applications call for directional fans of airships and hybrid-electric propulsion of large drones.
Reliable operation is ensured by a fault-tolerant electric motor drive architecture combined with mechanical redundancy and partial discharge control. Safety and control analysis will be part of the process.
Modular: The goal is to build a modular architecture that can scale to different sizes of propulsion systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms. There will be a way to scale up (or scale down) successfully tested solutions.
Green: Biofuel-based fuel cells coupled with high-performance batteries will be the primary energy source. Various biofuels will be traded in their liquid or vapor phase: Hydrogen (H2), Methane (CH4), and Ammonia (NH3).
Wanted Partners/Notes:
They are currently looking for engineering firms or academics to assist in the development of an environmentally friendly, reliable, and modular engine for light aircraft or drones and hybrid-electric propulsion systems via research or technical agreements. The goal is to develop a modular, reliable and green aircraft with a TRL 6 in a time horizon of 5 years.
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