Despite the recent onslaught of pure battery-electric vehicles, consumers started navigating toward plug-in hybrids lately. The reason is pretty straightforward – you can drive the vehicle just using the batteries for most of the time and enjoy untroubled long-distance cruising thanks to the added range of the internal combustion engine. And if the recent rise in the popularity of these vehicles is anything to come by, future airliners could also use the same formula to increase range and cut emissions.
Swedish startup Heart Aerospace, which in 2021 announced that it works on a short-range all-electric aircraft, has now shown an evolution of its concept with a hybrid powertrain called the ES-30. The new aircraft is capable of covering much longer distances. It’s all thanks to the reserve-hybrid configuration, wherein the electric motors and batteries are aided by two turboprop engines.
According to the company, the airliner can travel 125 miles on electricity alone, which is enough for short-distance flights. Moreover, the batteries can be charged to 100% in just 30 minutes – more than enough time to top them up between flights. Once the batteries sourced from BAE-Systems are depleted, the turboprop engines can provide an additional 125 miles of range, enough for longer-distance flights. A 250-mile range doesn’t seem very long, but keep in mind that the ES-30 airliner is designed for medium distances and can carry up to 30 passengers.
Other than the advanced hybrid powertrain, Heart Aerospace implemented other technologies that made the ES-30 more efficient. For instance, the propeller blades for the engine can be turned to lie parallel to the airflow to increase aerodynamics when only the electric motors are used. Moreover, thanks to the higher torque from the electric motors, the ES-30 can take off from very short runways of about 3,600 feet.
Crucially, Heart Aerospace’s ES-30, characterized by the bulging belly where the batteries reside, should provide much quieter flights than a regular airplane.
