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Collins Teams On Electric Airlander Project

A program to fit the Airlander 10 helium airship with electric propulsion has won a $1.29 million grant from the UK Aerospace Research and Technology program. Partners for the electric Airlander, named E-HAV1, include its builder, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), Collins Aerospace, and the University of Nottingham (UoN).

The E-HAV1 program’s initial objective will be to deliver a prototype 500-kW electric propulsor for ground testing, with the ultimate goal of using it to replace its forward fuel-burning engines and eventually building an all-electric version of the airship.

“Reducing our carbon footprint is one of the biggest challenges facing aviation today,” said HAV CEO Stephen McGlennan. “This project will move us closer to our goal of zero-carbon aviation.”

HAV has been in business since 2007. The Airlander 10 was originally designed for the U.S. Army’s since-canceled Long-Endurance Multipurpose Vehicle (LEMV) program that was intended to ferry personnel and materiel in Afghanistan. The HAV program has suffered several setbacks in recent years, including a serious mooring accident in 2016 and the subsequent destruction of the prototype vehicle during another accident in 2017.

The aircraft is designed to carry three to four metric tons of payload aloft for up to five days at a maximum altitude of 14,000 feet. HAV has designed a larger variant that can carry up to 60 metric tons.