IMOTHEP - Investigation and Maturation of Technologies for Hybrid Electric Propulsion
Research Project, 2020 – 2023

To meet the goal of a carbon neutral growth of commercial aviation, the top level objective of IMOTHEP is to achieve a key step in assessing the potential offered by hybrid electric propulsion (HEP) and, ultimately, to build the corresponding aviation sector-wide roadmap for the maturation of the technology.
The core of IMOTHEP is an integrated end-to-end investigation of hybrid-electric power trains for commercial aircraft, performed in close connexion with the propulsion system and aircraft architecture. Aircraft configurations will be selected based on their potential for fuel burn reduction and their representativeness of a variety of credible concepts, with a focus on regional and short-to-medium range missions. From the preliminary design of aircraft, target specifications will be defined for the architecture and components of the hybrid propulsion chain. Technological solutions and associated models will then be investigated with a twenty year timeframe perspective. In order to identify key technological enablers and technology gaps, the integrated performance of the electric components and power chain will be synthesized by assessing the fuel burn of the selected aircraft configurations, compared to conventional technologies extrapolated to 2035.
The project will also address the infrastructures and tools required for HEP development, as well as the need for technology demonstrations or regulatory evolutions. Eventually, all these elements will feed the research and technology roadmap of HEP, which will constitute the final synthesis of the project.
To achieve these ambitious goals, the four-year project is supported by 7 R&D institutes, 11 industries (from aviation and electric systems), a service SME and 7 universities from 9 EU countries, plus 6 RTD organisations from Canada and Russia. The requested EU grant is 10 392 845 Euros.

Participants

Carlos Xisto (contact)

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

Tomas Grönstedt

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

Anders Lundbladh

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2)

Xin Zhao

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

Collaborations

Airbus Group

Leiden, Netherlands

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

Wien, Austria

Bauhaus Luftfahrt

Munchen, Germany

Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali

Capua, Italy

EUROCONTROL - EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR THE SAFETY OF AIR NAVIGATION

Brussels, Belgium

FEDERAL STATE UNITARY ENTERPRISE THE CENTRAL AEROHYDRODYNAMIC INSTITUTE

Zhukovsky, Russia

Federalnoe Gosudarstvennoe Unitarnoe Predpriyatie Centralnii Institutaviacionogo Motorostroeniya Imeni Pi Baranova

Moskva, Russia

GE Avio

Rivalta Di Torino, Italy

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Köln, Germany

GKN Aerospace Sweden

Trollhättan, Sweden

Institut Superieur de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace

Toulouse, France

Institute of Aviation

Warsow, Poland

ITP

Zamudio-Vizcaya, Spain

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Karlsruhe, Germany

L - Up SAS

Paris, France

Leonardo - Societa per azioni

Roma, Italy

MTU Aero Engines

Munchen, Germany

National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR)

Amsterdam, Netherlands

NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER INSTITUTE

Zhukovsky, Russia

NSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE AEROSPATIALA

Bucarest, Romania

ONERA Centre de Palaiseau

Palaiseau, France

Polytechnic University of Bari

Bari, Italy

SAFRAN AERO BOOSTERS

Milmort, Belgium

SAFRAN Aircraft Engines

Vernon, France

SAFRAN ELECTRICAL & POWER

Blagnac, France

STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION MOSCOW AVIATION INSTITUTE STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Moscow, Russia

STATE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AVIATION SYSTEMS

Moscow, Russia

University of Lorraine

Nancy, France

University of Nottingham

Nottingham, United Kingdom

University of Strathclyde

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Funding

European Commission (EC)

Project ID: EC/H2020/875006
Funding Chalmers participation during 2020–2023

Related Areas of Advance and Infrastructure

Transport

Areas of Advance

Energy

Areas of Advance

Publications

More information

Project Web Page

https://imothep-project.eu/

Latest update

2022-04-18