Wedoany.com Report on Mar 17th, Collins Aerospace recently commenced initial testing of integrated electrical components, including a pair of 1-megawatt-class electric motors, at its Electric Power Systems Laboratory in Rockford, Illinois, USA. These components are intended for a hybrid-electric version of the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine, aiming to validate the electric generators, controllers, and power distribution systems for the SWITCH hybrid-electric engine. Following successful laboratory validation, the relevant components will be installed on a PW1100G engine for ground testing. This project, led by MTU Aero Engines, is part of the EU's Clean Aviation support program and is expected to be completed later this year.

The goal of the SWITCH hybrid-electric engine project is to demonstrate the feasibility of hybrid-electric technology for narrow-body engines, such as Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan (GTF). The principle involves optimizing efficiency across different flight phases through electrical power. In a future GTF engine, electric motors mounted on both the high-pressure and low-pressure spools could assist the gas turbine, providing power for takeoff and climb, thereby enabling the thermal engine to operate more efficiently during cruise conditions. The electric motors and controllers for this project were designed and produced by Collins at its Solihull, UK facility. The power distribution components were designed in Nördlingen, Germany, and the high-voltage electrical wiring interconnection system was manufactured by GKN Aerospace in Papendrecht, Netherlands. Furthermore, the SWITCH hybrid-electric engine plans to integrate a waste heat recovery system to achieve the overall goal of reducing fuel consumption by 20%.

According to Clean Aviation project documents, by the project's conclusion in December this year, SWITCH aims to advance the technology readiness level (TRL) of the hybrid-electric engine to Level 5 through ground testing of the full propulsion system, while the waste heat recovery concept is targeted to reach TRL 4. Clean Aviation has allocated 60 million euros in its fourth call for proposals to fund up to three ground demonstrators for hybrid-electric narrow-body engines. Selected projects are expected to be announced this autumn and launched in January 2027. Concurrently, the COMPANION project, led by Airbus, is exploring related applications for hybrid-electric engines on its A380 testbed platform.