Siemens, Rolls-Royce and Airbus join forces on hybrid-electric aircraft

The partnership between Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens aims at developing a near-term flight demonstrator with the future potential to move regional travel from rail to air at cruising speeds that match current aircraft. The three companies announced the collaboration today, 28 November 2017, at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology demonstrator is anticipated to fly in 2020 following ground tests, provisionally on a BAe 146, with one of the aircraft’s four gas turbine engines replaced by a 2MW electric motor.  Provisions will be made to replace a second gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven.

“The E-Fan X is an important next step in our goal of making electric flight a reality in the foreseeable future. The lessons we learned from a long history of electric flight demonstrators, starting with the Cri-Cri, including the e-Genius, E-Star, and culminating most recently with the E-Fan 1.2, as well as the fruits of the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration with Siemens, will pave the way to a hybrid single-aisle commercial aircraft that is safe, efficient, and cost-effective,” said Paul Eremenko, chief technology officer at Airbus. “We see hybrid-electric propulsion as a compelling technology for the future of aviation.”