The Technical University of Łódź and the Wrocław University of Science and Technology are taking part in the international HECATE project, which aims to develop new technologies for the supply of electricity to the aviation industry. The budget of the project, involving 37 partners from 11 countries, is more than €45 million. 

The aviation industry is striving to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and the key to success is the development of small regional hybrid-electric aircraft. This is at the heart of the HECATE (Hybrid-ElectriC regional Aircraft distribution Technologies) project. The project, worth more than €45 million, is coordinated by the Irish company Collins Aerospace. The aim of the international consortium is to develop new technologies for the delivery of electricity.

“Our aim will be to prepare a carbon footprint analysis of the technologies being developed as part of the project. This is another European project in which we are using LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology to determine the potential environmental risks of new materials and modern production techniques”, says Dr Aleksandra Ziemiańska-Stolarska of the Łódź University of Technology.

The use of hybrid-electric propulsion systems will increase electrical power from hundreds of kilowatts in today’s aircraft to megawatts in aircraft of the future. Collins company has many years’ experience of supplying electric power systems to some of the world’s most advanced aircraft, and its specialists are developing next-generation, low carbon footprint technologies that are integral to ‘sustainable flight’.

A total of 37 entities from 11 countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Ireland and the UK are involved in the initiative. The three-year project started in January.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński