E-THRUST - Design Optimization of Hybrid-Electric and Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft

Electrified and H2-powered aircraft constitute an emerging technology towards flight decarbonization.

H2 can be directly burnt into the gas turbine engines, or alternatively supplied to a fuel cell system to generate on-board electricity for use in an electric power system. Electrification can also be achieved using ultra-light battery systems.

This project aims at shedding light into the challenges and design trade-offs associated with flight electrification, H2 generation and utilization with focus on regional aircraft variants.

A combination of in-house and commercial-off-the-shelf tools are deployed for the holistic evaluation of performance, environmental and operational aspects of the novel concepts.

Particular attention is given on opportunities for technology mapping, down-selection and techno-economic risk analysis within the Swedish/Scandinavian infrastructure and market context. The project will be supported by three industrial contributors: Saab, Modelon and Mälarenergi.