Solid state megawatt power controller for electric aircraft

Collins Aerospace has completed prototype development of a solid-state power controller and power distribution panel as part of the European SWITCH project for an electric aircraft demonstrator.

The megawatt-class power distribution components were developed and produced in Nördlingen, Germany and will now be shipped to Collins’ state-of-the-art electric power systems lab, The Grid, in Rockford, Illinois for system integration testing.

Hybrid-electric propulsion systems that have both electric and traditional engines need new high-voltage distribution technologies as the electric power levels increase from hundreds of kilowatts in today’s aircraft, to megawatt levels in the aircraft of the future.

“Hybrid-electric aircraft are an integral part of the aviation industry’s drive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, yet without new, safe high-voltage power distribution systems, they will not fly,” said Tino Schuldt, general manager for Collins’ Nördlingen facility. “Here in Nördlingen, we’re leveraging our decades of experience in power distribution solutions and world-class facility to break new ground in the development of these critical enabling technologies for the next generation of hybrid-electric and all-electric platforms.”

• Battery innovation for electric aircraft
• Acutation power system for aircraft electrification

The SWITCH project is developing a new hybrid-electric propulsion system that combines two Collins megawatt-class electric motor generators within a Pratt & Whitney GTF engine. Both companies are part of the RTX group along with Raytheon, and the project consortium also includes MTU Aero Engines, GKN Aerospace, Airbus and others.

The ability to handle increased electric loads with the solid-state power controller and power distribution panel will enable the safe management of high-voltage electricity at altitude throughout the SWITCH hybrid-electric architecture.

The solid-state power controller was initially developed as part of a collaboration between the RTX Technology Research Centre, Collins and Pratt & Whitney under NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Programme.