TRANSPORTATION
“ Electric vehicles , by the nature of having very few moving parts , will be cheaper to maintain ”
Mark Cousin , Airbus
HAPS-Zephyr satellite
almost no thrust . We would hope to see the engine operated largely electrically in these types of descent phases , putting very little fuel into the engine , but still keeping it at a speed to deliver thrust via injection if needed . Big savings could come from that , especially on short range operations where a large portion of the flight is in descent ( London to Paris would be 30 %). In the first iteration aircraft will become hybridised .”
The hybrid model with electric energy storage could fill the gaps to allow a gas turbine to run at continual peak efficiency . It ’ s the sort of combination found in big ships , and even trains . The thermal engine will run at certain points in the journey , generating power at its peak efficiency . Once the power requirement drops , or the energy storage is full , the engine is shut down and the vehicle runs electrically , then when the battery ’ s down , the engine will start again . “ It ’ s what you ’ re seeing with hybrid cars today ,” notes Cousin . “ Running the engine at peak efficiency
48 March 2018