The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is teaming up with San Antonio International Airport in Texas to advance sustainable aviation technologies such as batteries for electric aircraft, energy storage solutions, and power management systems.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the DOE’s innovation unit, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the city’s aviation department and public service board (CPS Energy), as well as the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), in which the partners pledged to collaborate on developing and promoting technologies that will help to decarbonize the aviation sector.
San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg joined representatives from ARPA-E, UTSA, and CPS Energy for a signing ceremony held at Stinson Municipal Airport in San Antonio. “This is an important agreement with the potential to shape the aviation industry of the future,” Nirenberg said. “Researching the decarbonization of aviation and finding new sustainable energy models is important work, and I am proud San Antonio will be playing a leading role in this cutting-edge research.”
ARPA-E director Evelyn Wang said the partnership is “a step in the right direction to ensuring that these innovative technologies are developed, built, and integrated in America. Our hope is that this partnership will lay the groundwork to enable future electrified airports.”
Also present for the signing event were several project teams that have received funding from ARPA-E for electrification efforts, including Ampaire, a California-based developer of hybrid-electric powertrains for airplane retrofits. Ampaire flew its Electric EEL technology demonstrator to Stinson Municipal Airport on April 3 to commemorate the occasion.
The hybrid-electric EEL is a modified Cessna Skymaster twin-piston-engine airplane with the front engine replaced by an electric propulsion system. ARPA-E helped to fund Ampaire’s development of the hybrid-electric Skymaster testbed called the ARPA-E Bird. In November 2022, the agency awarded Ampaire a $9 million grant for the development of its hybrid-electric Eco Caravan, which made its debut flight just a few days prior.