Airbus and partners advance hybrid-electric aircraft architecture

High-voltage generation and distribution systems will be matured on a full-scale demonstrator ahead of a 2027 ground test.

Airbus has launched LEIA, the Large Scale Integration Demonstrator of Hybrid Electrical Architecture, working with partners across the European Union, the UK and the US to develop high-voltage generation and distribution systems for short-to-medium range aircraft. The project is supported by the European Union Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking and aims to bridge component-level innovation with aircraft-level maturity, preparing the technologies for future integration and certification.

LEIA builds on the completed SWITCH project, which focused on hybrid-electric powertrain subsystems. Collins Aerospace finished integrated laboratory testing in July, working alongside Pratt & Whitney, GKN Aerospace and MTU Aero Engines. Those subsystems, developed to operate alongside simulated aircraft and engine systems, are transitioning to the Airbus Sustainable Technology and Engineering Projects laboratory in Ottobrunn, Germany, where teams will carry out aircraft-level integration testing covering design, battery interfacing and energy-management systems.

Karim Mokaddem, head of aircraft of tomorrow research and technology at Airbus, says: "Our progress in developing hybrid-electric technologies and our move into the LEIA demonstrator marks a pivotal shift in how we design the future of flight." He adds: "By moving to integrated, intelligent hybrid-electric architectures, we are actively laying the physical and digital foundation for the next generation of aircraft."

Airbus is integrating a suite of electrical components for the demonstrator, including scalable motor/generators, next-generation electronic controllers and power distribution equipment, alongside other aircraft systems. The components will go through a testing programme culminating in a ground demonstration by 2027. LEIA and SWITCH form part of Airbus' wider work across Clean Aviation projects targeting electrification for regional and short-to-medium range aircraft, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. Partners on LEIA include AVL, Collins Aerospace, the European Aerospace Science Network, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Liebherr Aerospace, Lynxeo, the Netherlands Aerospace Centre, Safran, SAFT, the University of Warwick and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.