What is a Hybrid Powerplant?
A hybrid powerplant produces electric power for electric aircraft like air taxis. A hybrid powerplant has five main components:
An ENGINE CORE, either a turbine or a piston, to spin the generator.
A GENERATOR that creates electric power
An INVERTER that controls the generator and converts the electric power from AC to DC
THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS to keep all the components cool
A CONTROL SYSTEM to keep all the components opertaing and to communicate with the aircraft's flight control computer.
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Engine Core
Control System
Generator
Inverter
Thermal Management System
Why Use a Hybrid Powerplant?
- When most people think about electric aircraft, they think about batteries. Batteries are great at delivering power in short bursts, but they are not good at storing energy. Batteries simply can’t carry enough energy to give electric aircraft the range and endurance they need to meet FAA and EASA reserve requirements.
- Hybrid powerplants enable aircraft designers to design new aircraft that are electric-powered while using liquid fuel as the primary energy source to provide the range and endurance needed to meet the energy reserve regulations. Pound-for-pound, liquid fuel carries roughly 26 times the energy of the best battery packs available.
What about Sustainability?
If electric aircraft are all about sustainability, isn’t using liquid fuels a step in the wrong direction? Not necessarily. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions, even achieving net zero operation with the right manufacturing process. using SAF, VerdeGo powerplants enable electric aircraft to maintain new zero carbon emissions while delivering range and endurance not possible with batteries alone.
How is a hybrid powerplant used?
A hybrid powerplant is (almost) a replacement for a flight battery pack. VerdeGo powerplants are designed to work in parallel with a much smaller battery pack than would be required if the battery was the only energy source. Hybrid powerplants are typically sized to deliver power for the cruise phase of flight, while batteries are sized to provide a power boost for VTOL or hover operations. It’s about using the right tool for the job – liquid fuel for storing energy, batteries for delivering short-term power.
VerdeGo’s hybrid systems are designed with flexibility in mind, to enable series, parallel, or series/parallel installations.
Significantly lighter
Trade Fuel for Payload
Consistent Power
Storage Capacity Remains Constant
Ground Time is ≥ 12x Shorter
Meets Existing Reserve Energy Regulations
