Bombardier has named the first research partners for its EcoJet project, which aims to reduce business jet emissions by 50 percent through aerodynamic blended-wing-body (BWB) designs. The Montreal-based manufacturer announced Wednesday that it has enlisted two Canadian partners—the University of Victoria’s Centre for Aerospace Research (CfAR) and Quaternion Aerospace—to collaborate on the EcoJet project.
Quaternion Aerospace is a research and development firm in British Columbia that specializes in the design and manufacture of energy-efficient aircraft. It provides consulting services for OEMs such as Bombardier.
Meanwhile, CfAR has extensive experience in the development of autonomous uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), or drones, for research purposes, as well as commercial and military applications. The institution has designed, built, and tested several scaled demonstrator aircraft over the years, including the first two EcoJet technology demonstrators.
“Through this collaboration, our students and researchers are gaining critical real-world skills while helping to push forward the frontiers of sustainability and redefining the boundaries of what is possible for the future of the global aviation industry,” said CfAR director Afzal Suleman, who teaches mechanical engineering at the university.
Bombardier launched the EcoJet program 15 years ago and flew its first subscale demonstrator—a BWB drone with an eight-foot wingspan—in 2017. The EcoJet team revealed its second technology demonstrator at EBACE 2023. Twice the size of its predecessor, the autonomous Phase 2 demonstrator has been flying since 2022.
Data from the flight-test campaign is helping the EcoJet team understand the aerodynamics and flight control qualities of the BWB geometry, which Bombardier said could account for around 20 percent of the desired fuel savings. While the demonstrator is powered by a pair of Bombardier-modified off-the-shelf jet engines, the EcoJet team has not yet decided on a propulsion system for the full-scale BWB business jet.
The use of sustainable aviation fuels and hybrid engines could account for another 20 percent reduction in emissions, Bombardier added. Further fuel savings would come from other technological advances, such as weight-saving techniques and materials.
“Now that we have publicly disclosed some aspects of the first phases of the EcoJet flight-testing program, it is important for us to give credit and to share the phenomenal response with our partners who are instrumental to this dimension of the research project,” said Stephen McCullough, senior v-p of engineering and product development at Bombardier.
According to Bombardier, the partnerships with CfAR and Quaternion are the first of many that it intends to forge with businesses and academic institutions in Canada. The company is also involving multidisciplinary teams in the project, including Bombardier engineers and technicians in Québec and researchers and students in British Columbia.
“This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our commitment to sustainability, a greener future for the aviation industry, and the development of cutting-edge technologies that advance the frontiers of science and engineering right here in British Columbia and throughout Canada,” said Kevin Hall, the University of Victoria’s president.