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A consortium led by Collins Aerospace will complete the initial design of a new high-voltage power distribution system suitable for future regional aircraft later this year under an EU-backed project.
A kick-off meeting for the initiative, called HECATE, or Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft Technology, took place in January after the EU’s Clean Aviation Agency selected the project for funding last November.
Collins’ Applied Research and Technology Department in Cork, Ireland coordinates HECATE, and the manufacturer’s sites in Nordlingen, Germany and Solihull, UK also contribute expertise in power conversion and secondary power distribution.
Other consortium members include Diehl Aerospace, Safran Electrical & Power, and Thales, as well as Airbus Defense & Space and Leonardo, who provide a view of the aircraft.
Todd Spierling, principal technical fellow for electrification at a U.S.-based aerospace giant, said preliminary design activities for the system were completed this year, followed by significant design review milestones in 2024, with an eventual delivery of over 500kW. It states that it will lead to full testing of the system. Technology Readiness Level 5 in 2025.
According to Spierling, the project will develop and mature both individual components or subsystems (power switches, protection and power conversion systems) and the entire integrated power distribution system.
“It’s not just a component program, it’s not just an architecture program, it’s a combination of the two,” he says.
That approach will be important, he notes, given the lack of clarity as to what configuration future regional aircraft will adopt. “There’s still a lot of fluidity about what these architectures look like on different platforms.”
Any development program, he argues, is likely to “take some of these, some of them, and parts of it, and combine them into a specific configuration of an actual aircraft.”
The power requirements of future electric powertrains (which are likely to be at least 1MW for regional aircraft) are an important consideration, but Mark Holm, senior director of power systems at Collins, says the project will “ distribution of electricity,” he said. Voltage conversion required to run various systems.
With the potential change to alternative power sources in aircraft, DC-DC converters will also need to be developed to accommodate the transition to higher voltages in secondary systems, which could enable another efficiency improvement. says Spierling.
“Higher voltages allow us to use thinner wires, which significantly reduces the weight of the platform,” he adds.
But, as Holme points out, it “brings new challenges with respect to insulation and system protection, especially when operating at altitude.”
However, the development scope of HECATE does not include a generator on one end and a motor on the other. “We process and flow power, but we don’t actually create or use it,” he says Spierling.
Additionally, Collins is already working on such technology within its North American unit, which is partially electrifying the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 through a Canada-funded project. The electric motor for that project was developed at the Solihull site.
Additionally, although there are no flight tests envisioned as part of HECATE, Holme said this could be pursued as part of the second phase of Clean Aviation.
Spierling says this will provide valuable insight. Seen on real planes that are difficult to simulate in the lab. ”
Other companies developing high-voltage power distribution systems for aviation, notably Airbus, are exploring the potential efficiency gains that can be achieved using cryogenic and superconducting materials. Although not pursued by HECATE, Spierling believes such technology will find a role – not in all applications.
“Think about a particular aircraft, a particular mission, a particular configuration [super-conductivity] It makes sense and the trade-off works. But on some other smaller platforms, the potential weight savings and efficiency gains may not be worth it,” he says.
Airbus Defense & Space and Leonardo will bring “an airframer’s perspective” on “what the future might look like,” says Spierling.
Holme notes that the design has growth potential, as the power requirements of future aircraft are likely to be higher than those of the system under test.
“I think it’s part of the design range. [of the system] It’s about how we combine these building blocks to effectively scale to provide higher power capability when needed,” he says.
HECATE has received €34 million ($36.7 million) from Clean Aviation and UK research and innovation institutions (which are involved for Brexit) donated €6 million. The totals match at least by industry.
Those with some knowledge of ancient mythology will recognize that HECATE is the name of a Greek goddess, variously associated with witchcraft, magical nights, and crossroads. While the choice was intentional and reflected in the project’s logo, Collins said the airline industry is at a crossroads with new technologies and the need to reduce his carbon footprint. It is explained that
“Thus, her relationship with magic represents the breakthrough solutions needed to meet these challenges and the innovative technologies that the HECATE consortium is committed to developing.”
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