IMOTHEP

IMOTHEP is an ambitious 4-year technological program driven by the European aviation research and industry with:

• A holistic approach toward hybrid-electric propulsion (HEP) to reduce commercial aircraft emissions
• An in-depth analysis of power train technologies together with an innovative propulsion architecture
• The ambition to get a clear view of the potential benefits of HEP

IMOTHEP is carried out by a powerful multidisciplinary consortium consisting of European and international partners. The project will reach out to the whole European aviation community to finally elaborate the European roadmap toward HEP.

To meet the goal of a carbon-neutral growth of commercial aviation, the top-level objective of IMOTHEP is to achieve a key step in assessing the potential of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion (HEP) and, ultimately, to elaborate a sector-wide roadmap for the maturation of the technology.

The core of IMOTHEP is an integrated end-to-end investigation of hybrid-electric power trains for commercial aircraft, performed in close connection with the propulsion system and aircraft architecture. Aircraft configurations will be selected based on their potential to reduce fuel consumption and their representativeness of a variety of credible concepts, with a focus on regional and short-to-medium range missions.

From the preliminary aircraft design, target specifications for architecture and components of the hybrid propulsion chain will be defined. Technological solutions and associated models will then be investigated with a twenty-year horizon. To identify key technological enablers and technology gaps, the integrated performance of the electric components and power chain will be synthesized by assessing the fuel burn of the selected aircraft configurations, compared to conventional technologies extrapolated to 2035.

The project will also address the infrastructures and tools required for HEP development, as well as the need for technology demonstrations or regulatory evolutions. Eventually, all these elements will feed the research and technology roadmap of HEP, which will constitute the final project synthesis.

To achieve these ambitious goals, the four-year project is supported by 14 R&D institutes or universities, 11 industries (from aviation and electric systems), and a service SME from 9 EU countries, plus 6 R&D organisations outside Europe.