Siemens supplies integrated drive train for the first series hybrid electric aircraft in the world.
Siemens AG, Diamond Aircraft and EADS presented the world’s first aircraft with a serial hybrid electric drive system at the Paris Air Show Le Bourget 2011. The aircraft was built by the three partners to test the hybrid electric drive concept. In the future, the technology will cut fuel consumption and emissions by 25%, compared to today’s most efficient aircraft drives. The Siemens Drive Technologies Division supplied the drive train comprising motor, converter and control electronics and utilised the drives and engineering expertise already gained in industrial areas.
Air traffic accounts for some 2,2% of CO2 emissions worldwide. For this reason, aircraft must become more efficient. One possible solution – which Siemens and its partners Diamond Aircraft and EADS are testing in the DA36 E-Star motor glider – is to electrify the drive system. The motor glider, which is based on Diamond Aircraft’s HK36 Super Dimona, is the only aircraft of its kind in the world. It is the first to use a serial hybrid electric drive, which has been utilised to date only in cars, as an integrated drive train. The plane’s propeller is powered by a 70 kW electric motor from Siemens. Electricity is supplied by a small Wankel engine from Austro Engine with a generator that functions solely as a power source. A Siemens converter supplies the electric motor with power from the battery and the generator. Fuel consumption is very low since the combustion engine always runs with a constant low output of 30 kW. A battery system from EADS provides the increased power required during takeoff and climb. The accumulator is recharged during the cruising phase.
“The serial hybrid electric drive concept makes possible a quiet electric takeoff and a considerable reduction in fuel consumption and emission,” says Christian Dries, the owner of Diamond Aircraft. “It also enables aircraft to cover the required long distances.”
In comparison to the most efficient state-of-the-art technologies now available, the electric drive can save up to 25% of fuel and emissions. The technology is to be tested initially on small aeroplanes, but in the long term this drive will also be used in larger aircraft.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division supplied a low-voltage motor, a frequency converter and the control electronics. Siemens utilises the expertise gained in the implementation of the integrated electric drive train in other areas, for example, as main propulsion engine for cruise ships. Ralf-Michael Franke, CEO of the Siemens Drive Technologies Division states: “This example enables us to demonstrate our competence in the entire drive train. We combine our comprehensive drives portfolio with engineering and industry know-how and adapt the components to the specific application. In this way, we can supply our customers with the ideal drive train which will enable them to efficiently drive a ship and a hybrid bus or fly an aircraft.”
The next development step will be to optimise the integrated drive train further. Siemens scientists are currently working on a new electric motor that is expected to be five times lighter than conventional drives. In two years, another aircraft is expected to be equipped with an ultra-light electric drive. The electric motor glider successfully completed its first flight at the Wiener Neustadt airfield in Vienna early in June just prior to the Paris Air Show where demonstration flights were conducted daily.
For more information contact Keshin Govender, Siemens Southern Africa, +27 (0)11 652 2412, keshin.govender@siemens.com, www.siemens.co.za
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