With the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry on the verge of take-off, there has been a concerted effort by companies to supply eVTOL components, including propulsion systems.
At the Show, Hanwha Aerospace highlighted its capabilities in developing the electric propulsion system (EPS) that propels electric air taxis. The South Korean company showcased its electro mechanical actuator (EMA), energy storage system (battery) and its hydrogen fuel cell capabilities, which have caught the attention of many players in the AAM industry.
“We completed the development of the EMA for the first prototype of UK-based eVTOL manufacturer Vertical Aerospace,” said Sue Kim, Engineer at Hanwha Aerospace. “We are also in discussions with a couple of other eVTOL companies for the joint development of the EPS. We are actively communicating with every other eVTOL OEM.”
Since the AAM industry is still in a nascent stage, companies have their own novel concepts of aircraft, said Kim. “They have different requirements based on their idea of aircraft. Our strength is that we have the capabilities to develop products that are tailormade to the needs of the company we work with.”
There is a general shift in the aviation industry from hydraulic actuation systems to EMAs, said Kim. “This is true in the case of commercial aircraft as well. We manufacture hydraulic actuation systems, but with sustainability now a big goal, commercial aircraft makers are also looking for different solutions. We have not found a commercial aircraft manufacturer for our EMAs yet, but we believe that section of the market also has a lot of potential.”
The industry’s push to fly net zero by 2050 is spawning new sustainability solutions. “Every player wants to be eco-friendly and that is why we are focused on finding new solutions. We are thinking of combination solutions such as hydrogen fuel cell hybrid; that can be a solution for the new era.”
Hanwha has another link with the AAM industry. In 2022, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Aerospace made a US$115 million investment in Overair, a US-based developer of eVTOL aircraft. The funding includes US$50 million from Hanwha Systems(HSC) and US$65 million from Hanwha Aerospace.
In December last year, California-based Overair said that it had completed the assembly of its first full-scale Butterfly prototype and had begun testing of the integrated vehicle. The vehicle is the first-ever eVTOL aircraft to be built around Optimum Speed Tilt Rotor (OSTR) and Individual Blade Control (IBC) technologies. According to Overair, its eVTOL will be suited for passenger, medical, cargo, and military applications.
