Led by ONERA, 33 key aviation industry and research stakeholders are engaged since 1st of January 2020 in an ambitious research project on hybrid electric propulsion (HEP) for commercial aviation, a technology that opens a new design space for aircraft while providing a revolutionary step in improving its efficiency.

IMOTHEP - “Investigation and Maturation of Technologies for Hybrid Electric Propulsion”, a 4-year Research and Innovation Action has received a 10.4 M€ grant from the Horizon 2020 Framework Program of the European Commission (GA 875006).

IMOTHEP will perform an in-depth investigation of electric technologies for hybrid electric aircraft in close connexion with advanced aircraft configurations design and innovative propulsion architectures.

Analysing potential technologies at the relevant scale is fundamental for HEP and addressing the climate change challenge requires exploring the technology for commercial aircraft (representing the bulk of current airlines' fleets and aviation’s emissions). This is the central focus of IMOTHEP.

The project’s ultimate goal is to achieve a key step in assessing the potential of HEP for reducing the commercial aviation emissions and to build the technology roadmap for its development.

The consortium gathers the major European aircraft manufacturers (Airbus, Leonardo), leading engines manufacturers (Safran, GE Avio, MTU, ITP, GKN), EREA’s aeronautic research organisations (ONERA, CIRA, DLR, AIT, ILOT, INCAS, NLR), higher education actors (Universities of Lorraine, Strathclyde,  Chalmers and Nottingham, ISAE/Sup'Aéro, TU Braunschweig, Politecnico di Bari), a think tank (Bauhaus Luftfahrt), an intergovernmental organisation (Eurocontrol), and a consulting company (L’Up). EASA supports the project as a third party.

Finally, IMOTHEP develops international cooperation with Russia, with 5 leading research organisations (CIAM, GosNIIAS, MAI, NRC, TsAGI), as well as with Canada (NRC-CNRC).

Website: www.imothep-project.eu

Linked in : H2020-IMOTHEP

Contact: contact@imothep-project.eu

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875006 - IMOTHEP.