Pratt & Whitney completes hybrid-electric ground tests

Initial testing of the flight-standard propulsion system and propeller has been completed in Longueuil, paving the way for installation on a Dash 8-100 testbed.

Pratt & Whitney Canada has completed ground testing of the flight-standard propulsion system and propeller for the RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator project at its Longueuil, Quebec facility.

The propulsion system will next be installed on a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 experimental aircraft, with first flight expected in 2027. Pratt & Whitney Canada is an RTX business.

The system combines a Pratt & Whitney Canada thermal engine with a 1-megawatt electric motor and motor controller from Collins Aerospace, also an RTX business, and a battery system supplied by H55 S.A., a Swiss developer of certifiable aviation energy storage systems. The electric motor provides additional power during demanding flight phases such as takeoff and climb, allowing the propulsion system to operate more efficiently across the flight mission. The project is targeting up to 30 per cent improved fuel efficiency on a typical 250-nautical-mile regional turboprop mission.

Jean Thomassin, executive director, New Products and Services Introduction, Pratt & Whitney Canada, says: “Assembling the final, flight-standard propulsion system brings us one step closer to proving hybrid-electric technology in flight.” Thomassin adds: “We are advancing thermal engine and hybrid-electric technologies which could improve fuel efficiency and performance for a wide range of future aircraft applications.”

The demonstrator project involves collaboration between De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, GKN Aerospace, AeroTEC, Ricardo, the National Research Council of Canada and the Innovative Vehicle Institute, along with research institutions in Canada and abroad. It is supported by the governments of Canada and Quebec. The propulsion system verification phase is also supported by Strix, which manages Canada’s Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology (INSAT), with funding from the Government of Canada as part of its fifth wave of innovative research projects.