Hybrid electric aircraft

[1] The Diamond DA36 E-Star first flew on 8 June 2011, the first flight of a series hybrid powertrain, reducing fuel consumption and emissions by up to 25%, a technology scalable to a 100-seater airliner.

Amongst the entrants was the world's first parallel gas-electric hybrid aircraft called the EcoEagle, built by students of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, two electric airplanes - the Pipistrel Taurus G4 and the eGenius.

The E-STOL BEHA has gained support from key members of the UK Government and the airframe development has been conducted at Swansea University.

[7] On 28 November 2017, Airbus announced a partnership with Rolls-Royce plc and Siemens to develop the E-Fan X hybrid-electric airliner demonstrator, to fly in 2020.

The EU funded the Hypstair program with €6.55 million over three years till 2016 for a TRL of 4: a Pipistrel Panthera mockup received a serial hybrid-electric powertrain, ground testing a 200-kW motor driven by batteries only, by a 100-kW generator-only and by both combined.

[11] It is followed by Mahepa project from 2017, EU-funded over four years with €9 million under the Horizon 2020 research program to reduce aviation carbon emissions by 70% in 2050, till TRL 6 before entering product development.

[12] VoltAero is a startup company formed in September 2017 by the CTO and test pilot of the 2014 Airbus E-Fan 1.0, located in Royan and established with the support of the French Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

[13] On 31 October 2018, Diamond Aircraft flew the HEMEP, funded by Germany’s economics ministry and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, reaching 130 kn (240 km/h) and 3,000 ft (910 m) within 20 minutes.

[17] Personal Airline Exchange (PAX) became the launch customer for the Ampaire Electric EEL modified six-seat Skymaster, to be certified in 2021, with an order for 50 plus 50 options.

[19] The 2 MW (2,700 hp) design is similar to the Airbus E-Fan X program, but aims for certification and production for a subsequent commercial offer.

[19] Faradair Aerospace launched its 18 seat BEHA M1H during Revolution.aero in March, London, with turboprop hybrid propulsion and 'quick change' passenger/cargo capability, targeting the CS23/Part23 commuter category regulations.

[21] UBS forecast a market for 16,000 hybrid-electric airplanes and $178–192 billion over 2028–2040, mostly in general aviation, light business jets and regional aircraft with 20% lower operating costs than present 50–70 seaters.

[26] In November 2020, Embraer had a new design for a regional airliner avoiding an hybrid-electric drivetrain, as operating costs would increase by 15% for 5% of the required power compared to conventional turboprop.

[24] It plans the IBEFA-i6 project, a 19-seat distributed electric propulsion demonstrator to fly in 2021 with turbodiesel, gas turbine and fuel-cell generators.

[28] In 2019, the National Research Council Canada started to convert a Cessna Skymaster, a push-pull configuration, the Hybrid Electric Aircraft Testbed.

[30][31][32] On 19 January 2023, ZeroAvia flew its Dornier 228 testbed with one turboprop replaced by a prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain in the cabin, consisting of two fuel cells and a lithium-ion battery for peak power.