Airbus advances hybrid-electric aircraft technology with LEIA project

Investing.com -- Airbus is working with partners from the European Union, the UK and the US on a hybrid-electric non-propulsive energy system for the next generation of commercial aircraft through its LEIA project.

LEIA, or Large Scale Integration Demonstrator of Hybrid Electrical Architecture, receives support from the European Union Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. The project focuses on developing high-voltage generation and distribution for electrical aircraft systems designed for short-to-medium range aircraft.

"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," said Karim Mokaddem, Head of aircraft of tomorrow Research and Technology at Airbus. "By moving to integrated, intelligent hybrid-electric architectures, we are actively laying the physical and digital foundation for the next generation of aircraft. This evolution demonstrates that the future of aviation is about more than just new power sources; it is also about the new ecosystems that will manage them."

The LEIA project follows the completion of the SWITCH project, which concentrated on hybrid-electric powertrain subsystems. Collins Aerospace completed integrated laboratory testing for SWITCH in July, working alongside Pratt & Whitney, GKN Aerospace, and MTU Aero Engines.

The subsystems are now moving to the Airbus Sustainable Technology and Engineering Projects laboratory in Ottobrun, Germany. Airbus teams will conduct aircraft-level integration testing at this facility, including design, battery interfacing and energy-management systems.

Airbus is integrating scalable motor/generators, electronic controllers, power distribution equipment, and other aircraft systems. The company plans to validate these systems through testing, with a ground demonstration scheduled for 2027.

Airbus partners on the LEIA project 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.

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