Energy Storage Integration Techniques for Hybrid Electric Aircraft

To realise the electrical propulsion concepts for next generation aircraft, a revolutionary advance is needed in the performance of on-board battery storage systems. The energy densities of batteries must be increased by almost an order of magnitude, which implies radical new battery technologies, and the overall storage requirements are likely to approach 10 MWh.

This PhD project will investigate the challenges and potential solutions for integrating future large-scale battery packs into the on-board electrical systems of hybrid electric aircraft, which are likely to operate at up to 2 or 3 kV. The research will focus on the optimal pack voltage and the electrical interfacing and management of the pack including the power electronic converter, with the objective of identifying techniques to enable the early adoption of new battery technologies and large-scale battery packs as they emerge. This will include consideration of the battery pack impact on the electrical system integrity and resilience under abnormal conditions. The initial work will involve computer modelling and simulations, which will subsequently be validated through experimental work on key sub-systems.