CFPs: Ground Test Demonstration up to TRL5 of On-Board NPE Systems Architecture for SMR Aircraft

Scope

• The SMR aircraft concept proposed in Clean Aviation is expected to be a tube and wing configuration, with a 2035 EIS target. Such an aircraft concept should have a capacity of around 200-250 pax with a design range up to 3000NM, operated on a typical mission of 800NM at cruise speed Ma 0.78.
• Disruptive technologies related to the airframe will have to be integrated with ultra-efficient propulsion systems, together with multi-dimensional trade-offs, including sustainability and circularity. Further energy efficiency gains can be achieved by transitioning to more electric or hybrid electric systems with a significantly higher demand of electric power in the MW class, while demanding lighter, more efficient, and highly independent systems. The resulting ultra-efficient SMR targets a 30% CO2 emission reduction from technology, not taking into consideration the SAF net-effect, on a typical mission.
• A MW class aircraft architecture enabled by high voltage/high power generation, conversion, distribution, transport, and storage, considered for the future SMR aircraft concept, implies a step change (up to 5 times more) electrical power generated, stored, and distributed. It comes with the need to manage several electrical networks of different voltages (HVDC on top of more classical 115VAC/28DC), some electrical loads moving to high voltage (800VDC) while most loads remain in classical voltage levels. The management of advanced across ATA interfaces and disruptive system integration strategies, along with maturing advanced functions to manage the energy onboard across the whole electrical power chain while managing the thermal dissipation of these technology bricks add to the challenges of this new architecture.
• This topic is intended to deliver an integrated and validated electrical energy provision sub-system, by project completion at TRL5, maturing the equipment up to a representative level of its functioning on the electric network, supported by critical technology bricks being representatives of the main loads such as electric engine start, eECS, Air supply and cabin heating, eIPS and Electric Actuation matured to TRL5.
• Applicants should propose and build a demonstration plan aiming to validate the architecture on ground to TRL5 by end of 2027 and subsequently to TRL6 by programme end and to provide clear identification of the key milestones and gates towards the selection of the future electrical system architecture. This topic aims at defining the future characteristics and performances of this network in view of preparing the demonstration plan supporting the demonstration of the end-to-end system electrical system architecture (TRL6 by programme end) contributing to the performance of future SMR aircraft concept a/c ready for EIS in 2035
• Applicants should demonstrate TRL4 already completed and achieved for key technologies necessary for the non-propulsive energy architecture demonstration project start, based on synergies with activities from CA Phase 1, or funded by national/regional or other European programmes, and identify the remaining key challenges in the path towards TRL6 by end programme end.
• The scope of the topic, therefore, is to design, develop, demonstrate, and deliver an SMR system architecture and components for an on-ground demonstration up to TRL5, including:
  • Overall system architecture, addressing:
    • Further architecture configuration trade-offs and optimisation.
    • Electrical, thermal and energy management functions, at the requested performance targets (detailed in the next section) for an SMR aircraft and Ground Test Demonstrator.
    • The Validation and Verification approach of the integrated end-to-end electrical system towards on-ground demonstration at TRL5 by 2027, including means associating models, real hardware in the loop and remote testing capability.
  • Electrical Power Generation and Distribution System (EPGDS – ATA 24/ATA92), including:
    • Definition and substantiation of the architecture achieving minimum weight (target to be defined at proposal stage)
    • Non-propulsive power sources and generators (including starter generator)
    • Power conversion units required to generate different voltage and power levels considered at aircraft level, for non-propulsive and propulsive consumers.
    • Harness and connectors to enable the interconnection of equipment.
    • Power distribution units, protection devices, and fault management for the EPGDS
    • Energy management and health monitoring.
    • Grounding and bonding definition to mitigate conducted and radiated emissions accounting novel designs of the airframe.
    • Protection and mitigation of adverse physical phenomena associated with severe environmental condition at altitude such as partial discharge, arcing and lightning effects at high voltage, pressurized, low pressurized and non-pressurized areas
  • Energy Consumption, covering technology brick maturation to TRL5 via ground tests and a clear route to integration into an end-to-end overall electrical system architecture, tackling the challenges of integration with the aircraft electrical power generation and distribution system to be tested on-ground at a later stage during the programme, covering,
    • Maturation of the Electric Engine Start, without adding significant energy consumption and weight than the traditional bleed based starting system.
    • Maturation of Electric Environmental Control System (eECS), Air Supply and Cabin Heating (ATA21) optimized for power consumption, weight, and sizing for a moreelectric aircraft, as compared to a traditional bleed-air based thermal management system.
    • Maturation of interfacing of Electric Ice Protection System (eIPS) (ATA30) towards a fully integrated solution with power generation and distribution system, to deliver an optimized and efficient energy management with minimum energy required for ice protection / de-icing
    • Demonstration of operationality of an Electric Actuation System, and potential energy management logics to ensure a safe operation of the function, with an objective to establish an optimum energy management strategy.
  • Electrical Energy and Thermal Management, including development and integration of:
    • advanced load management functions: systems shall be able to reconfigure their operations in terms of voltage and/or current and/or power levels, by following optimization logics involving whole powertrain and leveraging novel concepts such as smart grids and parallelization of electrical flows.
    • advanced electrical energy management systems: electrical power flows management shall be aligned with aircraft level energy control, supported by new sensors as appropriate, allowing minimization of energy consumption and thermal loads depending on flight phase and conditions.
    • thermal management solutions with the different heat sources coming from the aircraft electric energy generation and distribution, batteries, and other energy consumers.
    • the realization and validation of an integrated electrical energy management function structured as a supervisory control, that would be hosted on a representative avionics platform.

Funding Information

• The maximum EU contribution per project funded under this topic is EUR 35 million
• Indicative project duration: Maximum 24 months.

Expected Outcomes

• Project results are expected to demonstrate non-propulsive energy architecture for more electric aircraft on-ground at TRL5 for a Short Medium Range aircraft concept considered by Clean Aviation SRIA for EIS in 2035:
  • Encompassing development of an end-to-end electrical system architecture integration strategy, based on the SMR aircraft concept architecture (less bleed or bleedless).
  • Encompassing electrical energy provision (generation, conversion, distribution, transport, and storage), consumption (major loads such as electric Environmental Control System, Anti Icing, Electromechanical actuators, etc.), and thermal and energy management systems (detailed in the scope section below), compatible with an SMR aircraft concept ready for EIS in 2035 (an end-to-end electrical system architecture at TRL6 by programme end).
  • TRL4 shall be justified at project start for the considered technologies, based on synergies with activities from CA Phase 1, or funded by national/regional or other European programmes.
  • TRL5 shall be achieved at an integrated energy provision system level, more specifically on the Electrical Power Generation and Distribution System, based on ground tests and at equipment/component level based on simulations and ground test activities.
  • Define and deliver interface specifications including safety requirements, electrical network stability and power quality requirements, thermal requirements, reliability requirements, etc. applicable to all components of the end-to-end electrical system architecture.
  • Down select the future electrical system architecture and provide the underlying requirements (interface documents & key functioning criteria, power requirements, power network configuration & associated voltage)
  • Provide a roadmap to TRL6 for demonstration of the end-to-end electrical system architecture with identification of critical systems required for demonstration (including their current level of maturity) and propose a demonstration plan for completion within the Clean Aviation programme duration.
  • The systems shall achieve a Certification Readiness Level 4 (CRL4) for critical technologies, with a route to CRL6 at airframe level by the end of CA programme.
• Project results are expected to directly contribute to the performance targets of the SMR aircraft concept with EIS by 2035:
  • The non-propulsive energy system shall enable and contribute to a 30% CO2 emissions reduction at aircraft level (including weight and aerodynamic integration effects of the propulsive system), compared to the 2020 SoA aircraft (enabling 86% net CO2 reduction with 100% SAF)
  • Adequate KPIs at integrated system and key technology levels shall be proposed, to support the effective achievement of the expected outcomes, and shall be aligned with the performance targets section below.
  • A clear route towards certification, exploitation, and industrialization shall be identified, including the identification of operational requirements to support successful entry into service.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Entities eligible to participate Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
  • A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality .
• Entities eligible for funding :
  • To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding. To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
    • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
      • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
    • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
      • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
    • countries associated to Horizon Europe;
      • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

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