IMOTHEP: Investigating the potential of hybrid electric propulsion to help aviation go carbon-neutral

IMOTHEP – or “Investigation and Maturation of Technologies for Hybrid Electric Propulsion”, to give it its full name – aims to investigate the potential for hybrid electric propulsion for commercial aviation. Hybrid electric propulsion is an environmentally friendly technology that could revolutionise aircraft design and efficiency and reduce emissions – calling for “ambitious research and disruptive solutions allowing to go well beyond the continuous improvement of current aircraft technologies”, according to ONERA CEO Bruno Sainjon in the project press release.

“We want to understand better and model the impact of hybrid electric propulsion”, notes Philippe Merlo, EUROCONTROL Director European Civil-Military Aviation, in a video with Philippe Novelli, IMOTHEP R&T Programme Manager.

Agency experts will help IMOTHEP assess how best to integrate HEP aircraft into airspace, looking at the challenges of trajectory, connectivity and ATM performance. Using fast-time simulations and modelling the performance of different hybrid electric propulsion aircraft using our BADA database, we will be able to assessing the impact on the European network of such aircraft developed in IMOTHEP in terms of their performance and environmental impact.