Tidal Flight and DeltaHawk Engines to co-develop hybrid jet-fuel powerplant for Polaris aircraft

Tidal Flight, a leader in electric amphibious aircraft for regional air mobility, has entered a collaborative relationship with DeltaHawk Engines, builders of the revolutionary FAA-certified DHK jet-fueled piston engines, to begin certification of a range-extending hybrid powerplant with DeltaHawk’s engine for use in Tidal’s Polaris hybrid-electric seaplane.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two companies has been signed, and sharing of engineering data and technical resources is underway. The companies are also finalizing details surrounding a potential initial order of engines. Through customer relationships, Tidal has found that a hybrid-electric powertrain enables the Polaris aircraft to meet the performance needs of both airlines and the DOD while slashing operating costs and logistics footprint. Further, DeltaHawk’s engine technology will enable Polaris’ powertrain to deliver higher fuel efficiency, lower acquisition cost, and lower maintenance costs than with a turbogenerator powerplant. To support the development of Polaris’ hybrid-electric powertrain, Tidal and DeltaHawk are collaborating to design and produce a hybrid powerplant using an engine in the DHK family. Tidal has validated the extensive potential reach and market potential of hybrid-electric seaplanes with 11 LOIs from seaplane and commuter airlines worldwide, representing 140+ aircraft and $900M+ in orders. This includes a recently announced agreement with Tropic Ocean Airways, the operator of the world’s largest fleet of passenger amphibious aircraft, for 20 Polaris aircraft valued at over $100 million.

“Seaplanes present the opportunity to provide direct, low-infrastructure access to city centers, remote communities, and coastal destinations. DeltaHawk’s engine technology is one of the critical enablers for Polaris to deliver the step-change reduction in operating costs, fuel burn, and maintenance hours required to make that unique mobility affordable and sustainable”, said Jude Augustine, Co-Founder & CEO at Tidal Flight.

Christopher Ruud, Chief Executive Officer of DeltaHawk, added “We could not be more excited about our formal collaboration with Tidal Flight – and we see installation of the DHK engine in a hybrid configuration as an outstanding beginning for a global partnership that we anticipate will grow to include our entire family of engines in a wide range of horsepower. Just as important, we see this new agreement not just in terms of engines, but also as a wonderful step by Tidal Flight towards ensuring environmental sustainability for general aviation worldwide.”

Following FAA certification of the DHK180, flights of the new engine in factory aircraft have been ongoing at DeltaHawk’s manufacturing and flight test facility in Racine, Wisconsin, along with work by the company’s quality and operations teams in preparation for production of integrated firewall forward engine packages. In addition, DeltaHawk has previously announced its certification efforts for the 200 and 235 hp DHK engines.