Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, announced it has completed integrated lab testing for the European Union’s Clean Aviation SWITCH project at The Grid, its advanced electric power systems lab in Rockford, Illinois. The tested hybrid-electric powertrain subsystems, which successfully operated with simulated aircraft and engine systems, are now heading to Airbus’s laboratories for further aircraft-level integration testing, including work on aircraft design, battery interfacing, and energy-management systems.
The SWITCH project aims to improve engine efficiency for future short- and medium-range aircraft by integrating hybrid-electric systems on a Pratt & Whitney GTF engine, including two Collins megawatt-class motor generators and controllers. Testing at The Grid was supported by Pratt & Whitney teams, who performed powertrain system integration and supplied the hybrid-electric engine controller, and Airbus teams, who supplied the interface controller to the aircraft energy-management system, while GKN Aerospace delivered the high-voltage wiring system. Collins described the effort as the largest integrated systems test conducted at The Grid since its opening in 2023.
Following SWITCH, The Grid will support the Airbus-led LEIA project, a Large scalE Integration demonstrator of hybrid electrical Architecture, where Collins will serve as technical lead for energy sources. Collins plans to deliver four scalable electric motor and generator units, next-generation electronic controllers, power distribution equipment, and cabin pressure and ventilation control systems as part of that project, while its Nördlingen, Germany site will supply solid-state power controllers and power distribution panels intended to replace mechanical circuit breakers and relays. LEIA testing will take place across several Collins sites, including facilities in Toulouse, France; Frankfurt, Germany; Cork, Ireland; Rome, Italy; and Solihull, UK, in addition to The Grid.
Both SWITCH and LEIA build on Collins’ ongoing collaboration with partners across several other Clean Aviation projects, including HECATE and AWATAR, which advance electrification technologies for regional and short- and medium-range aircraft, as well as newer ultra-efficient regional aircraft projects called OSYRYS and PHARES. MTU Aero Engines coordinates the SWITCH project. Clean Aviation is a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the European aeronautics industry with a budget of €4.1 billion, aimed at reducing emissions from short-medium range and regional aircraft by at least 30 percent compared with 2020 state-of-the-art aircraft.
KEY QUOTES:
“This is the largest integrated systems test conducted at The Grid since its opening in 2023. By combining our technology expertise with deep industry collaboration, we are demonstrating how hybrid-electric systems can significantly reduce fuel consumption for next-generation aircraft.”
Kristin Smith, Vice President of Electric Power Systems, Collins Aerospace
“SWITCH & LEIA are essential building blocks to make the hybrid-electric short- and medium-range aircraft become a reality: they show the power of collaboration within Europe and beyond.”
Pierre Durel, Project Officer, Clean Aviationx
