Airbus Helicopters has selected RTX units Pratt & Whitney Canada and Collins Aerospace to supply a hybrid-electric powertrain for its H145-based PioneerLab technology demonstrator.
Developed by the airframer’s German operation and unveiled in September 2023, the PioneerLab has so far been used to flight test advanced sensors and autonomous flight controls.
However, Airbus Helicopters plans a complete overhaul of the light-twin’s powertrain in the coming years as it targets an overall fuel-burn reduction of 30%.
It will replace the H145’s stock Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel 2E turboshafts, each rated at 667shp (894kW), with a new hybrid-electric propulsion system comprising a P&WC PW210 engine derivative linked with two Collins 250kW electric motors and controllers through a common gearbox.
A 1,000shp-rated engine, the PW210’s main commercial application is aboard the Leonardo Helicopters AW169 medium-twin.
The hybrid-electric configuration will enable the performance of the thermal engine to be optimised, with the electric motors providing high-torque capability during flight conditions such as take-off and landing.
Development of the electric motors and controllers will be led by Collins’ facility in Solihull in the UK and supported by the country’s Aerospace Technology Institute and the Universities of Nottingham and Warwick.
“The PioneerLab actually gives RTX the ability to demonstrate these technologies in flight, so they are actually ready for any platform,” says Kalyani Menon, senior chief engineer, propulsion electrification at Collins Aerospace.
Menon, briefing journalists at the Solihull site in early July, says the development of the powertrain for the PioneerLab has been aided by other demonstrator programmes within RTX: the motor controllers are derived from those developed through its STEP-Tech programme, and the motors, currently in the design phase, are scaled down versions of a 1MW machine built for a hybrid regional aircraft demonstrator effort.
A battery system from an undisclosed supplier will also form part of the powertrain.
The airframer is still analysing where to situate the batteries on the rotorcraft. A model of the helicopter was displayed at June’s ILA Berlin air show on the stand of German aerospace research agency DLR with a ‘box’ structure running the length of the cabin above the landing gear.
Airbus Helicopters confirms this one of several battery storage systems under consideration.
Installation of the hybrid powertrain on to the PioneerLab will take place in 2026, with the intention of starting flight testing from the company’s Donauworth site in southern Germany the following year.
In addition to the new powertrain, Airbus Helicopters will also make aerodynamic improvements to the PioneerLab, mainly focused on the aft portion of the helicopter. These will cut drag in forward flight and reduce the interaction of the rotorwash on the airframe while in the hover.
In the latter case, that could include an asymmetric tail boom – similar to that seen on the Racer high-speed demonstrator – using an airfoil shape to reduce the amount of power needed for anti-torque control.
Alongside the PioneerLab, Airbus Helicopters also plans to demonstrate electric power aboard its DisruptiveLab and Racer technology demonstrators: Safran is supplying the hybrid-electric systems for both aircraft.
