Siemen’s New Electric Aircraft Engine Starts To Take Off!

Electric Aircraft Engine Design Leads the Way to Electric Flight.

The use of electric motors to drive cars and hybrid electric motor design have become common. Over the past decade, various types of inventions and innovation using electric motors for use by vehicles have been conceptualized and built. Even big companies, like Toyota have seen the economic feasibility of such innovations. They are investing heavily looking for the next revolutionary designs that will give them a competitive edge over their rivals and peers in the car industry.

Siemens researchers have developed a new type of electric motor that, with a weight of just 50 kilograms, delivers a continuous output of about 260 kilowatts – five times more than comparable drive systems. The motor has been specially designed for use in aircraft.

However, in the aviation industry, the trend towards electric motor powered engines has not caught on. Thanks to Siemens, a revolutionary new design is about to change all that. It has been able to achieve an amazing weight to performance ration of 5kW/Kg. The compact motor which weighs in at only 50 kg has an incredible output of about 348hp (260kW) with just 2500RPM. This is no small feat. The output power of this incredibly light motor is almost five times more than any other motor in its weight category. That means that a single motor can lift an aircraft with a 2 ton takeoff weight into the air. Furthermore, the high rotational speed of 2500 RPM that means that the propeller can be connected to the motor directly without the need for use of transmission.

Electric Aircraft Engine Design Leads the Way to Electric Flight

Hybrid Engine

Siemens claims that their engines can be fitted onto four seat light planes. The company is set to begin conducting flight tests before the end of 2015. The company further claims that with enough research and development we could see a fully electric powered commercial flight of between 50 to 100 passengers in the near future. However, in the meantime, Siemens is working in collaboration with aviation industry players to develop a hybrid engine. The engines will be fitted onto commercial aircrafts. The plane design which is a collaboration primarily involving Airbus and Siemens and it is in advanced stage of development. The first flight of the plane could take as soon as 2035.

Fuel Savings

The key advantages of using this engine is the fuel savings. Fuel costs account for a huge percentage of the aviation industry’s costs, accounting for almost 80% of all overheads. The innovative design if implemented could save the industry about 12%, which is a big deal.

The siemens team builds an electric airplane

Other Stakeholders

However Siemens is not the only one exploring the use of electric engines for use in commercial flight. Airbus made a debut of electric powered engine in 2014 with its E-fan. Huge strides are being made in the development of electric powered flight. The first public demonstration by Siemens on electric powered flight was a 2013 joint development of the DA36E-Star 2 motor glider with Airbus and Diamond Aircraft. That particular motor had a power output of 60kW. The use of electricity to power flight has generated a lot of interest lately. This is due to the recent attempt at the world’s first solar-powered flight around the world.

The future for electric flight

Currently, the use of electric motors for flight seems promising and has gathered a lot of interest from major players in the industry. Besides contributing positively to the fight against greenhouse emissions, this engines offer great savings on fuel costs.

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Fabio Evagelista is a Brazilian writer.

Crossed Paths is the first book of the Myra-Hati trilogy, an epic adventure in a post-apocalyptic world, for the lovers of sci-fi / fantasy genre. This is the author’s first work published in America.