Empfindlichkeit der Auslegung von Hybrid-Elektrischen Flugzeugen gegenüber Verbesserungen in der Brennstoffzellen- und Batterietechnologie

Abstract

Estimations of future developments in fuel cell and battery technology exhibit a high uncertainty but might be relevant to evaluate suitable hybrid electric aircraft configurations. Improvements in power source and energy storage technologies can shift the optimal power source configuration for a given flight mission, provided that all accompanying system considerations are accounted for. To assess the influence on battery and fuel cell developments a sensitivity analysis based on public literature values for current and future specific energies is carried out. Using an in-house simulation model, various fuel cell & battery load-sharing combinations are compared, altering how much power is provided by each subsystem. As a benchmark we use 2 different mission profiles of the same 70-seater aircraft with entry into service in 2040. These mission profiles exhibit different characteristics of climb versus cruise power demand. This demonstrates the possible use-case of complementing a fuel cell-powered aircraft with a battery for high-power segments of the mission. Furthermore, the influence of future improvements in specific energy of battery- and fuel cell systems is assessed. Here we try to determine limits and opportunities for each technology. These results are then compared to current technology roadmaps from literature.