Electric Propulsion Moves Forward In Development, Eventual Deployment

Graham Warwick December 22, 2017

Airbus E-Fan X

Credit: Airbus Concept

Serial hybrid propulsion
Rolls-Royce AE2100 turbine with 2.5-megawatt integrated generator
Siemens 2-megawatt motor driving AE3007 fan
3,000-volt DC power distribution
2-megawatt-output battery (Airbus)

Airbus CityAirbus

Credit: Airbus Concept

Electric VTOL
Eight 100-kW direct-drive motors
140 kWh of energy in four 140-kW batteries
Eight ducted, fixed-pitch propellers in coaxial pairs

DARPA/Aurora XV-24A LightningStrike

Credit: DARPA Concept

VTOL distributed electric propulsion
18 variable-pitch ducted fans
Six variable-pitch ducted fans
Tilting foreplane and wing
AC-coupled power distribution
Three 1-megawatt Honeywell generators
Rolls-Royce AE1107 turboshaft

NASA X-57 Maxwell

Credit: NASA Concept

Distributed electric propulsion
460-volt DC power distribution
Dual-redundant, 16-module battery pack
60-kW wingtip cruise motors
12 leading-edge high-lift motors with folding props

From X-plane demonstrators to prototypes, a wide range of electric-powered aircraft are set to fly in the next few years as industry seeks to establish whether the technology is ready to enter mainstream aviation.

Graham Warwick

Graham leads Aviation Week's coverage of technology, focusing on engineering and technology across the aerospace industry, with a special focus on identifying technologies of strategic importance to aviation, aerospace and defense.

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