Electroflight has been selected to build a High Energy Propulsion Battery System (HEPBAS) for the Heart Aerospace ES-19, a regional airliner currently being developed in Sweden.
The system, the companies say on 26 February “could well be the largest certifiable battery system in existence”.
Electroflight, a UK-based bespoke battery manufacturer is also currently working with Rolls-Royce to develop and build the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, Accel.
The Heart Aerospace ES19 regional jet, currently being developed in Gothenburg, Sweden
“The energy storage systems being developed for the Heart ES-19 platform use all of the know-how we’ve built up from Accel… and other cutting-edge aerospace electrification programmes, enabling us to meet stringent EASA certification requirements around safety, containment, thermal management and monitoring via our battery management system,” says Douglas Campbell, technical director at Electroflight.
“Achieving this sort of breakthrough in electric aviation technology during such a disrupted and challenging year shows the incredible resilience and innovation in our industry,” he adds.
Heart Aerospace, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, last September presented its 19-passenger regional aircraft design ES-19, which will be powered by four electric engines and have a range of about 222nm (400km). The ES-19 is scheduled to enter service in 2026. The company said at the time that it plans to initially target the Nordic countries, but has received inquiries from operators in North America and Asia as well.
Heart was spun out of the Electric Air Travel in Sweden (ELISE) project, which was funded by the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova. It is also an alumnus of Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley start-up accelerator that has helped companies like Airbnb, DoorDash and Dropbox get off the ground.
Design and development of the new battery system will take place at Electroflight’s facility at Gloucester airport in the UK, the company says.
