Collins Aerospace has produced a prototype of the solid-state power controller and distribution panel as part of its contribution to the European Union-backed SWITCH project to develop hybrid-electric propulsion technology for short- and medium-range airliners. The hardware was developed at the RTX group company’s facility in Nördlingen, Germany, and is now being shipped to The Grid electric power systems laboratory in Rockford, Illinois, where it will be integrated with a powertrain demonstrator.
SWITCH stands for Sustainable Water Injecting Turbofan Comprising Hybrid-Electrics, and the consortium behind the project encompasses RTX companies Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace, as well as MTU Aero Engines, GKN Aerospace, and Airbus. The demonstrator combines a Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engine with a pair of Collins’ two-megawatt electric motor generators mounted on the low and high spools of the engine.
Part of the work being conducted for the EU’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking is focused on how to provide the high-voltage distribution capability that will be needed to support anticipated megawatt levels of electrical power for future aircraft. According to Collins, its power controller and distribution panel will safely manage high-voltage electricity at altitude throughout the SWITCH hybrid-electric powertrain.
“Hybrid-electric aircraft are an integral part of the aviation industry’s drive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, yet without new, safe high-voltage power distribution systems, they will not fly,” said Tino Schuldt, general manager for Collins’ Nördlingen facility. “Here in Nördlingen, we’re leveraging our decades of experience in power distribution solutions and our world-class facility to break new ground in the development of these critical enabling technologies for the next generation of hybrid-electric and all-electric platforms.”
In addition to SWITCH, RTX companies are engaged in several other hybrid-electric propulsion technology programs, including STEP-Tech, HECATE, and the Airbus PioneerLab. Work on the Collins solid-state power controller began as part of an earlier collaboration between the RTX Technology Research Center and Pratt & Whitney as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program.