Project description
The first short-haul electric airliner becomes more mature
Sweden-based startup Heart Aerospace aims to electrify air travel, delivering the world's first electric airliner certified for commercial flight by 2026. Its all-electric aircraft ES-19 will have an operating range of 400 km and a carrying capacity of 19 passengers. The EU-funded QualE-fly project is centred around Heart Aerospace’s core innovation – the high-efficiency electric drivetrain that powers the ES-19. The drivetrain comprises an electric motor, motor controller and propeller actuators, and it is controlled by an electric propulsion automatic control system. The aim now is to bring the technology to a higher level of maturity, from the prototype stage (technology readiness level 5) to a complete and qualifiable system (technology readiness level 8).
Objective
Heart Aerospace is a Swedish start-up that makes electric aircraft for regional air travel. Heart’s first aircraft is the ES-19, an all-electric nineteen-seater airliner with a range of 400 km, set to enter service in 2025. Heart has validated strong market demand for the ES-19, with signed Letters of Intent (LOIs) from 7 airlines across Europe and North America for 137 aircraft worth approximately €1 billion.
Project QualE-fly is centered around Heart’s core innovation, the high-efficiency electric drivetrain that powers the aircraft ES-19 airliner. The drivetrain comprises an electric motor, motor controller and propeller actuators, and is controlled using Heart’s Electric Propulsion Automatic Control System (EPACS). Heart has designed a prototype of the QualE-fly drivetrain with market-leading efficiency and performance.
The aim of this project is to take the QualE-fly drivetrain from the prototype stage (TRL5) through the stringent certification and safety standards required for commercial aviation operations, into a product ready for the market (TRL8). The project has two work packages. Work package 1 consists of detailing formal requirements and design of QualE-fly, to ensure certifiability. Work package 2 consists of the manufacturing and qualification ground testing of the QualE-fly drivetrain.
After being introduced in the ES-19 aircraft in 2025, the QualE-fly drivetrain will be reused for our 48-seater ES-48 airliner, set to enter service in 2032. The target market for this aircraft is all global short-haul air travel under 2000 km, which currently accounts for 85% of worldwide departures and 43% of global emissions. Electric aviation represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity to cut aviation emissions and transition to sustainable, revitalized regional communities through enhanced mobility and connectivity.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering control systems
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering aerospace engineering aircraft
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
417 46 Goteborg
Sweden
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.