AEROSPACE SUPPLEMENT
INTRODUCTION: GETTING TO THE FUTURE INTACT
although larger versions might not appear for another
three decades, says a report in The Naked Scientists
( www.is.gd/izageg ).
MagniX’s chief, Roei Ganzarski, laid out some
interesting facts in that article. First off, he said: “I don’t
believe batteries will ever be as powerful as fuel.” But he
then worked backwards from distances people y to
prove a point. “Last year Five percent of all worldwide
ights were less than a hundred miles of range. In fact,
45% of their ights are under 500 miles of range,”
he pointed out. So, the Eviation Alice covers 45% of
worldwide ight distances, he observed Ed: but only with
nine passengers, of course, while he added that there is
work on hybrid capability, meaning electric motors turning
propellers, but having some sort of range extender that’s
gas-based providing some of the electricity. “We will
probably, most likely, see larger aircraft start as a hybrid,
and then eventually, as either battery or fuel cell
technology gets better, we’ll then see them go all
electric.” Clearly the electric and associated technology
has a way to go but will get there – unless another new
idea looks better, maybe.”
Regarding hybrid technology, UK-based engineering
and development company Electric Aviation Group (EAG)
revealed a new design for a Hybrid Electric Regional
Aircraft (HERA) in July. The rm’s 70+ seater aircraft is to
be in service by 2028, aiming at a market of ~3,000
aircraft, replacing ~1,800 ATR72s and ~1,200
Bombardier Dash 8, a ~$80bn market opportunity.
EAG is the founder of the Jet Zero Consortium, which
is being brought together to deliver HERA, and the
convener and secretariat of the Electric Aviation All Party
Parliamentary Group APPG, a new cross-party and crossindustry
group aimed at promoting British skills and
expertise within the electric ight sector. (Global rm
Raytheon Technologies, incidentally, has slowed its
development of its hybrid plane, Project 804, but says it
remains committed to electric technologies for ight.)
Yet while we have hardly started the SAF or electric
revolutions, there’s talk of other options – hydrogen
( www.is.gd/zudahe ) and ammonia ( www.is.gd/erodat and
www.is.gd/febino ) as alternative fuels, for example.
Of course, hydrogen can also be used to generate
electricity in a fuel cell. California and UK-based ZeroAvia
converted a six-seater Piper Malibu aircraft to run on a
hydrogen fuel cell (Intelligent Energy), ying it in June
(video: www.is.gd/upaqus ). Hydrogen-electric offers the
same zero-emission potential of battery-electric but has a
much more promising energy-to-weight ratio, the company
says. ZeroAvia will initially target short-haul 10-20-seat
commercial ights up to 500 miles, air taxis, package
delivery and more.
Innovation for future products is not in short supply;
business is, so what of now? There has to be a supply
chain in place to support the production of whatever
planes we y in the future. Airbus in France has slashed
production by a third, Boeing is similarly reducing output
and Rolls-Royce is slimming operations. There is news
daily of Covid-19’s impact on the sector.
Prominent and successful UK aerospace industry
supplier JJ Churchill of Market Bosworth, Nuneaton,
summed the current grim situation up earlier this year.
Orders for the company’s jet-engine turbine blades had
tumbled, with turnover expected to drop 60% this year.
Half of the company’s 140 staff were furloughed, but
more than 50 were subsequently made redundant.
“Orders have taken an enormous knock and it will
probably take two to ve years to grow back. This is not
going to be a V-shaped recovery,” CEO Andrew Churchill
said in a Telegraph report of May.
Sector representative body ADS is calling for £1bn of
long-term support for the aerospace supply chain through
an investment fund with contributions from industry,
private nance and government. The fund would
recapitalise critical UK supply chain companies and
support mergers and acquisitions to drive restructuring of
the supply chain whilst helping to scale up innovative
start-ups.
In fact, ADS has called for a wide variety of sector
support over past weeks. And that is surely required as a
stepping-stone to the cleaner air travel future envisaged.
France has unveiled a €15bn support plan for its
aerospace sector, for example, and something similar for
the UK is the hope.
Eviation’s
Alice electric
aircraft on the
tarmac
34 October 2020 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
/izageg
/zudahe
/erodat
/febino
/upaqus
/www.machinery.co.uk