A next step in electrification – commuter aircraft

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A next step in electrification – commuter aircraft

A next step in electrification – commuter aircraft

As the wider aerospace industry looks beyond the impact of COVID-19 and focuses on net zero carbon ambitions, there are market segments where the potential for growth continues. They require solutions that combine efficiency, good economic performance, environmental responsibility, and social benefits for the wider travelling public – key requirements in a post-COVID world.

Commuter aircraft of up to 19 passenger seats have started their journey towards electric operation. Several hybrid and all-electric concepts, both new designs and retrofit, have been presented by aerospace companies in the last couple of years.

This emerging market of electric-powered commuter aircraft serves two market needs – demand for faster door-to-door travel and for smaller, more bespoke, “thin haul” cargo services. Electric commuter aircraft promise to better connect communities using existing airport networks, while protecting the environment.

Do commuter planes have market potential?

19-seat passenger aircraft have a long history dating back to the DHC-6 Twin Otter and Short Skyvan of the late 1960s; but facing increasing fuel prices, more efficient car and rail services and the growth of low-cost regional aviation competitors, their operation retreated to more remote and niche routes, with the number of variants in production falling from 12 to just three.

Increased ambition to decarbonise aviation - and the continuing demand for more efficiency – had already created a pre-COVID-19 interest in reinvigorating this market through electrification. This was further encouraged by the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 statement setting ambitious targets for fuel burn reduction and also a travel time target that requires 90% of people travelling between any two locations within Europe to complete their door-to-door journey within four hours. An economic feasibility study, conducted as part of the EU-funded project ELICA (Electric Innovative Commuter Aircraft), came to the conclusion that electric 19-seater designs can support reaching this travel time target.

Reinventing Regional Air Mobility

A Regional Air Mobility (RAM) study has shown that while the car dominates short distances, and established airline services with commercial airliners long distances, on-demand air taxi services performed by electric commuter aircraft could be the fastest mode of transport between distances of 100 and 400 km, depending on local geographical circumstances. This time-saving advantage especially pays off for business travelers seeking to maximise work time and minimise travel time

Electric commuter aircraft become competitive when it comes to travel time because they can operate on short runways and, thanks to their low noise profiles, also on airports near residential areas. This allows them to be used on existing widespread regional airfield networks, many of which are often underserved. This can be particularly attractive in rural regions that are not well connected to the main transport networks.

Lead markets for Regional Air Mobility

The growth in demand for electric regional air mobility can already clearly be observed in countries such as Norway where there is a growing political will for zero-emission air travel and an appetite to connect a number of islands without costly investment in a new road or rail infrastructure .

In Norway, the 210 km between Bergen and Stavanger can take up to four and a half hours by car, but just 30 minutes by plane. Before the pandemic, Widerøe offered around 400 flights per day using a network of 44 airports, where 74% of the flights have distances less than 275 km. The shortest flight durations are between seven and fifteen minutes. And there are similar possibilities in Sweden, Finland, and Scotland.

A chance for more sustainable cargo

At the same time, we see a revolution taking place in the cargo market. The desire to further reduce delivery times as demand for e-commerce continues to grow means that “thin haul” cargo services, delivering a small amount of cargo rapidly and flexibly, will continue to be popular. And as logistics companies are increasingly committed to reducing emissions, environmentally friendly solutions are needed – providing another opportunity for electric commuter aircraft.

A positive business case for the operators – and society

To tap into the potential of these new market opportunities, operators need to see real economic returns.

Electric energy is cheaper than kerosene, and electric powered trains additionally come with significantly reduced maintenance costs in comparison to gas turbines. The resulting overall reduced operating costs make utilising routes that previously seemed unattractive financially viable again, for the transport of both passengers and goods.

Electric propulsion can generate additional value for operators. Its low noise offers the possibility of expanded slot times at airports – for more deliveries early in the day or late at night, or for even more flexible short-distance travel.

There are also wider financial arguments for the development of electric-powered commuter aircraft: they are a more efficient use of national infrastructure. Already about 99% of the US population lives within 30km of an electric RAM-feasible airfield, in Europe it is 77%. In Germany, about 80% of the population lives within a radius of just 20km of an airfield or airport.

With greater investment in electric commuter aircraft, these airports can be used more fully and in doing so save on alternative mass transit infrastructure costs.

Rolls-Royce is determined to champion commuter aircraft electrification

All these benefits make a case for the future of hybrid and fully electric propulsion for commuter aircraft. The ELICA study predicts that annually 28 to 85 new aircraft would need to be produced to satisfy the new market for business transport alone, with further upside potential for passenger services, air cargo services and special missions (e.g. military). There is also the opportunity to retrofit existing aircraft with electric propulsion.

Rolls-Royce is at the forefront of pioneering the power that matters and has developed its business to serve this market.

Delivering all-electric commuter aircraft

Rolls-Royce and airframer Tecnam are joining forces with Widerøe – the largest regional airline in Scandinavia, to deliver an all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market. The project expands on the successful research programme between Rolls-Royce and Widerøe on sustainable aviation and the existing partnership between Rolls-Royce and Tecnam on powering the all-electric P-Volt aircraft.

The programme will look to cover all elements of developing and delivering an all-electric passenger aircraft that could be used in the Norwegian market from late-2020s. Rolls-Royce will bring its expertise in propulsion and power systems, Tecnam will provide aircraft design, manufacturing and certification capabilities. Widerøe’s mission will be to ensure that all competence and requirements of an airline operator are in place

Prototyping electric machines to explore compact designs of highest efficiency

A typical twin engine 19-seater aircraft needs around 2x600 kW take-off power. Based on a concept study for a hybrid-electric Dornier 228 aircraft we have developed electric machine prototypes for this power class: a 480 kW electric motor and 500 kW generator have undergone extensive lab testing, providing the Rolls-Royce teams with essential learnings for the upcoming new designs.

Driving new commuter aircraft concept designs

Together with our partners University of Naples Federico II, SmartUp Engineering, Siemens Industry Software NV, and Air s.Pace GmbH – also part of the ELICA project – we are performing concept design studies for a new 19 passenger commuter aircraft, which is economically feasible, environmentally friendly and technologically innovative.  

The University of Naples will carry out multi-disciplinary optimisation and performance benefit analysis at an aircraft design level, while Rolls-Royce Electrical will provide feedback – e.g. on weight and reliability – from the perspective of the electric propulsion system architecture and equipment design.

The potential of hybrid-electric systems

At the same time, we continued to build experience with serial hybrid-electric systems in our M250 Hybrid demonstrator programme which uses the proven M250 turboshaft engine for power generation.

The design phase has been successfully completed and again proven the outstanding capability of Rolls-Royce global team to design disruptive technology at aviation safety levels. The market has accelerated and new customers present their aircraft concepts, our research has indicated that a hybrid-electric system based on a combination of generator and turbine specifically designed and dimensioned for the needs of common hybrid-electric aircraft applications could further increase efficiency of our customers’ aircraft designs.

Rolls-Royce is now taking these findings and is looking to develop a new turbogenerator to complement the ongoing developments of technology for all-electric propulsion, energy distribution and storage for the UAM and commuter markets. It will enable Rolls-Royce to take a leading position in bringing a modular and scalable portfolio for both hybrid- and all-electric advanced air mobility applications to the market.

Powering commuter aircraft

We are also developing energy storage systems (ESS) that will enable aircraft to undertake zero emissions flights of over 100 miles on a single charge. In order to deliver this ground-breaking technology, we are planning an £80m investment in ESS over the next decade, that will create around 300 jobs by 2030 and strengthen our position as the leading supplier of all-electric and hybrid-electric power and propulsion systems for aviation.

Aerospace-certified ESS solutions from Rolls-Royce will power electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing) in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market and fixed-wing aircraft, with up to 19 seats, in the commuter market.

By 2035, Rolls-Royce is planning to integrate more than 5 million battery cells per annum into modular systems.

An integral part of our sustainability mission

It is certain that with electric power and propulsion, the benefits of flight for short-haul distances will help reinvigorate smaller airports and offer sustainable, easily accessible and financially viable air transport to society.

And it will be a valuable, if not vital, next step, as the aviation industry moves towards electric propulsion and more sustainable flight beyond the commuter market and into the larger, megawatt-power, class of aircraft.

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