The goal of this project is the development of a new primary electrical power distribution system (PPDS) to be integrated in an aircraft/plane platform from the aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace.
The situation to be solved by the INDIS project is the increase of the aircraft electrification and power increase in the small aircrafts, helicopters and new air vehicles (LR-drones, RPAS and future air taxis). All new platforms will be based in Total Electrical Aircraft (including propulsion) or in the MEA concept (more electrical aircrafts), where most of the aircraft systems are based in electrical power and in some cases, also in of hybrid propulsion.
Therefore, INDIS project is being developed to solve this situation, over the short term of new future SAT (Small Aircraft Transport) or even, over big modification in the legacy SATs.
So, from the moment that aircraft platforms (aircrafts, planes, helicopters, RPAS,..) need to kept is size, or even more to reduce size, the new electrical aircraft systems, as core of these new aircrafts, need to be as most efficient, as smallest, as more powerful as possible.
And in order to achieve these requirements, INDIS project will use new components and technologies to perform a new power distribution based in these concepts of intelligence for power management, protections and system efficiency, and new technologies of high voltage (HV) for size & weight reduction. But the bigger difficulties for development, is to be able to introduce in a small available space, a lot of smart switches, to manage/protect a lot of electrical loads (more than in legacy aircraft). In the pass and currently, these systems manage no so much electrical loads, at low power and with single behavior managed by pilots, therefore, with very low capability for automation, new aircraft functions & operations for efficiency increase.
Regarding to the environmental green objectives targeted by the European Commission through the CleanSky2 program (CS2), being part of the H2020 European Frame program, the goal of the INDIS project is to achieve an electrical power distribution system more efficient and that allow finally to produce some more electrical aircrafts and in a feasible way, as long as this new electrical system will be the core and the backbone of the new electrical air platforms. The CS2 program has as one of its main pillars the development of more electrical aircrafts (MEA) or even, total electrical aircraft (TEA), in order to achieve an general aircraft more efficient, competitive and capable to achieve a reduction in contaminant emissions and noise.
