FlightGlobal reports that Collins Aerospace “has now opened ‘The Grid,’ a long-planned Illinois facility that houses its development of electric and hybrid-electric propulsion technologies for future aircraft.” The aerospace supplier “had previously intended to open the site in the city of Rockford in 2020.” But Collins “slowed some of its electric propulsion work during the Covid-19 pandemic.” The announced opening happened on Wednesday, with the site described as a “$50 million advanced electric power systems lab” focused on hybrid- and more-electric systems. Encompassing 2,323sq m (25,000sq ft) of space, the site “will initially support testing of equipment at power levels reaching 8MW.” Collins already “supplies massive generators to aircraft including Boeing’s 787 and has in recent years amped up its development of new electric aircraft systems.” It recently “developed a 1MW electric motor as part of a broader RTX project to modify a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 regional aircraft with a hybrid-electric propulsion system.” Pratt & Whitney Canada “is assisting with that project, which involves replacing one of the Dash 8’s P&WC PW120A turboprops with a hybrid-electric powertrain.” The companies “delayed the project during the Covid-19 pandemic and have recently said they aim for the Dash 8 to get airborne with the hybrid system for the first time in 2024.” Separately, Collins and Pratt & Whitney “are jointly developing a broader line hybrid-electric systems for the emerging urban air mobility sector.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
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Collins Aerospace opens advanced electric power systems lab, The Grid
(Collins Aerospace; YouTube)