A new electric motor developed by Siemens, a German company, will make it possible to build four-seat hybrid-electric aircraft, the company said recently. The motor’s capabilities also suggest “that the use of hybrid-electric drives in regional airliners with 50 to 100 passengers is a real medium-term possibility,” said Frank Anton, head of the company’s e-aircraft research unit. The motor weighs about 110 pounds, the company says, and can produce a continuous output of about 260 kilowatts (equivalent to about 348 hp). It can drive propellers directly, without the use of a transmission. The motor will be flight-tested later this year, the company said, and the team will continue working to boost output.
Siemens worked with Diamond Aircraft two years ago to successfully flight-test a 60-kW hybrid-electric drive in a DA36 motorglider. The new engine uses a new cooling concept that reduces weight, the company said. The company is working with Airbus to develop the technology, and says if the engineers are successful in their ongoing experiments, “the first 60- to 100-seater aircraft with a hybrid electric drive could be taxiing for takeoff as early as 2035.” Anton is scheduled to be one of the speakers at the CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium coming up this weekend in Santa Rosa, California.
