top of page

Special Session on Decarbonization Efforts for Electrification of Future Aircraft including Electric Propulsion
Organized by Prof. Bulent Sarlioglu

List of Session Topics:
- Electric Machine Design
- Power Electronics Design
- Energy Sources (Batteries and Fuel Cells)

Justification for Industry Participation:
This special session will address the recent development of electric aircraft for decarbonatization. This area is growing fast due to many efforts underway for electric propulsion. Low weight, high reliability, safety, thermal management, and low cost are important issues to address during the design phase. Electric machines and power electronics are key technologies for propulsion with high performance and fault-tolerant capabilities. Batteries and fuel cells are considered for primary fuel. The use of additive manufacturing enables greater specific power and higher efficiency designs, which are critical for the future of aerospace electrification and may facilitate net-zero carbon emission air transportation. Speakers from industry and universities are invited to present at this special session. The speakers will share their vision and provide updates on the technology development and research related to electric aviation.

Abstract:
In aircraft electrification, increasing the specific power and efficiency of electrical components is critical to make more electric/hybrid/electric propulsion physically and economically feasible. Additive manufacturing enables unique geometries that conventional manufacturing techniques cannot achieve. Additively-manufactured applications in electric machines and power electronics include permanent magnets, shafts, and housing designs, thermal management systems, integrated motor drives, additively manufactured coils, and highly optimized traditional designs. Additive manufacturing techniques also allow for increased design flexibility and co-design of related components and subcomponents, allowing for greater system-level performance optimization.

Session Presenters/Panelists:

Speaker
 
Prof. Regine Mallwitz, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Elektrische Maschinen, Antriebe und Bahnen, Germany.

Title of Presentation:

Invite talk 1: Aspects of Future Avionic Power Electronics

Short Bio:

Regine Mallwitz is Professor for Power Electronics at the Technical University Carolo-Wilhelmina Braunschweig, Germany. From 1994 to 2013, she held various positions in industry, e.g. at Infineon Technologies AG, Germany, and SMA Solar Technology AG, Germany. Most recently, she was head of the central research department at SMA.

She thus has extensive experience in the characterization and validation of the reliability of components e.g. semiconductors, including packaging technology, circuit design and operation of power electronic converters. One focus is currently on power electronics for aviation and on design aspects concerning the use of Wide Wand Gap (WBG) semiconductors for aerospace applications as well as terrestrial applications. She is a member of the board of the Cluster of Excellence Sustainable Energy Efficient (SE2A), which comprise approx. 40 interdisciplinary principal investigators mainly from the Technical University Braunschweig and the Leibniz University Hanover, Germany. She has published consistently over the years of her professional career. She is inventor or co-inventor of several patents.

Regine Mallwitz is active in the German Association for Electrical, Electronics & Information Technologies (VDE). She is member of the scientific advisory board of the Power Engineering Society (ETG) and the Society for Microelectronics and Microsystems Technology (GMM) in the VDE as well as chair of the Power Electronics Department of the ETG. She is member of the IEEE. As a member of the European Power Electronics Association (EPE) she chairs the topic e-mobility, which includes avionic themes.

Speaker

Prof. Nazmiye Balta-Ozkan, University of Cranfield, Sustainable Energy Transitions, UK

Title of Presentation:

Invite talk 2: Viewing Electrification of Airports through a Socio-Technical Lens – Insights and Opportunities

Short Bio:

Nazmiye Balta-Ozkan is a Professor of Sustainable Energy Transitions at Cranfield University. Her research focuses on developing socio-technical systems frameworks, models and tools to identify and manage risks, opportunities and challenges associated with digitisation and decarbonisation of airports. Over the last ten years, she has been principal or co-investigator on research projects worth over £16M funded via Research Councils UK, the European Commission as well as government agencies and industry.


Speaker

Prof. Xiaoze Pei, University of Bath, Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS)

Title of Presentation:

Invite talk 3: Towards Zero Emissions Electric Aircraft through Superconducting DC Distribution Network

Short Bio:

Professor Xiaoze Pei is Director of Research Quality in the Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS) at University of Bath. She holds EPSRC Open Fellowship and is leading the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory. Prof Pei received her PhD from University of Manchester in 2012. She joined University of Bath in 2017, promoted to Reader (Associate Professor) in 2022 and then Professor in 2023. Her research interests include cryogenic and superconducting powertrain and novel electrical machine.

Prof Pei is Secretary for IEEE Power Electronics Society Technical Committee TC 10: Design Methodologies and Conference Chair for Emissions Free Air Transport through Superconductivity Conference (EFATS) 2023.

Abstract:
Electrification of aviation will be central to achieve ambitious environmental targets for the reduction of carbon emission, fuel burn and noise. A current game-changing concept is hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. Airbus UpNext initiated the Advanced Superconducting and Cryogenic Experimental powertraiN Demonstrator. A reliable high-power density and high efficiency superconducting DC distribution network will be a key enabling and transformative technology to achieve large-scale hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. Safety and reliability are the primary requirements for electric propulsion aircraft. This talk will focus on the fault protection of cryogenic and superconducting DC distribution network using a superconducting fault current limiter and a cryogenic DC circuit breaker.



.

bottom of page