ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS, CURRENT TRENDS, PROSPECTS

Abstract

Electric vehicles are widely used in various transportation applications: automobiles, buses, ships, trains, unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV), and airplanes. Rising greenhouse gas emissions and the risk of fossil fuel depletion have driven the transition to electric transport, which the European Union aims to reduce substantially by 2035 through renewable energies. In air transport, this transition is more difficult, especially due to the weight of the equipment on board. Without exception, they all use the energy stored in batteries to drive electric motors. In recent years, various hybrid drive systems have developed in aviation, systems based on fuel cells and environmentally friendly energy sources par excellence. Their main advantages are high efficiency, lightweight, modularity, and lack of moving parts. When fueled with hydrogen, they do not produce greenhouse gases, the only reaction products being water and heat. Axial magnetic flux motors have replaced the classic radial magnetic flux electric motors with low weight and volume, efficiency, power, and high torque previously developed for electric vehicles with in-wheel motors and are used without modification. This paper presents an overview of the main problems raised by electric propulsion of aircraft. Also, important achievements and development trends in the field are presented. Finally, a light, electrically powered aircraft configuration is proposed with a hybrid energy source composed of the hydrogen fuel cell, LiIon Polymer battery, and axial magnetic flux motor.