On October 7-9, 2019 in Trondheim, Norway, within the framework of the 44th NATO AVT Panel Meeting, a scientific symposium on “Hybrid-Electric Aero-Propulsion Systems for Military Applications” was organized. The symposium aimed at presenting to the potential users – operators from NATO countries, the real possibilities of hybrid-electric propulsion for aircraft applications as well as bringing together the international group of scientists and engineers with the stakeholders to discuss the above-mentioned area. The meeting was attended by the representatives of ŁUKASIEWICZ – Institute of Aviation: Borys Łukasik, Ph.D. and Anna Mazur, M.Sc.
The presentations by the symposium participants proved that the hybrid-electric propulsion systems possess a great potential and can meet the requirements of the military missions to the extent that conventional propulsion systems at times cannot. The participants had the opportunity to get familiar with the technical aspects that are to be taken into account in order to implement the effective and efficient NATO aircraft using such innovative technologies.
The symposium consisted of 10 sessions – 8 thematic sessions, one panel session and a summary session.
During the summary session, the presentation by a technical evaluator assessing the symposium for the NATO S&T Council was given and a discussion panel followed during which the chairman of the AVT-RTG-310 task group – Borys Łukasik, Ph.D. from ŁUKASIEWICZ – Institute of Aviation and Prof. Mike Benzakein from Ohio State University evaluated the usefulness of the symposium in terms of its contribution to the activities of the AVT-RTG-310 group “Hybrid / Electric Aircraft Design and Standards for Research and Technology (HEADSTART)”.
Thematic session covered:
- Hybrid/Electric Research,
- Systems and Architecture,
- Aircraft Conceptual Design,
- Integrated Power-trains,
- Integrated Vehicle Design.
Key-note speeches were given by:
- Brigadier General Christian Leitges z German Air Force Headquarters,
- Dr John Cavolowsky z NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD).
Apart from Borys Łukasik. Ph.D., ŁUKASIEWICZ – Institute of Aviation was represented by Anna Mazur, M.Sc. who made 3 presentations on:
- Photovoltaic-Battery Power Supply System of Multi-Sensor Platform On-Board UAV,
- Fuel Cell Galley System for Combined Heat and Power Generation on Commercial Aircraft,
- Energy Distribution in Fuel Cell Hybrid Energy Systems for Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles.
On the last day of the symposium, the participants went on a technical tour to Rolls-Royce Electric Norway, which is the main center where the electrical components for hybrid drives are tested for marine and aviation applications.
