Several advancements have been made in the GENESIS project, which lay the foundation for subsequent work conducted in the Clean Aviation programme. Advances going beyond state-of-the-art are manifold and build upon the results of all deliverables within the scope of the project.
The definition of TLAR and the knowledge on the integration of emerging technologies like batteries and fuel cells in regional class aircraft can be used in future projects (e.g. within Clean Aviation programme). Furthermore, a surrogate model for a gas turbine engine for the medium-term horizon with performance, emissions, weight, main dimensions, and cost evaluation has been provided and validated. Additionally, the consequences of using different biofuel blending ratios have been investigated. A total of eight configurations with varying power supply technologies and hybridization levels were developed for the three time horizons. This included novel technology projections regarding propellers, batteries, and fuel cells.
Results within the technology foresight analysis obtained for the medium-term and long-term bring insights into specific technological components with application within and outside the aviation sector. In the context of regional aircraft, lithium-sulfur and lithium oxide batteries are the selected technologies for the two horizons respectively, although the specific energy densities remain too low for an all-electric battery aircraft in the regional class hence requiring the batteries to be coupled with internal combustion engines. Solid oxide and polymer electrolyte membranes were thus identified as the most promising fuel cell types for powertrain configurations. The technology is anticipated to reach a suitable power density for aircraft use by the medium-term horizon. The power density values of the power electronics converters have been investigated and determined, and it has been found that SiC devices could be replaced with GaN devices in the medium and long-term time horizon. Analysis shows that the best options for electric drives powered by permanent magnet synchronous machines are a Halbach magnet arrangement and directly cooled stator windings. Proton-exchange membrane and alkaline electrolysers have been selected as the most suitable hydrogen production technology for the medium- and long-term time horizons. Possibilities regarding the infrastructure needed for hydrogen conditioning, storage, and distribution have also been forecasted. As an add-on, the project also explored power electronics cryogenics in aircraft applications.
With regard to environmental sustainability, a structured approach for LCI data gathering was developed; available in full open access, it can be used to build LCI datasets beyond the project GENESIS and the aviation sector. Within project GENESIS, a total of 63 technology-specific, temporally differentiated LCI datasets have been developed and transparently documented (in open access) for specific processes and technologies captured in the project scope. These datasets provide one of the most detailed publicly-available aircraft inventories to date, and the stand-alone datasets can serve as building blocks for LCA applications beyond the aviation sector (e.g. battery or fuel cell production, etc.). In GENESIS, the LCI datasets enabled the conduct of a prospective LCA study for the different aircraft configurations and scenarios, along with an economic assessment. The results provided insights regarding the impacts and trade-offs of future potential hybrid technologies. The environmental impact assessment also significantly nuanced the role that so-called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can play to mitigate the environmental burden of regional aircraft.
