Full-scale demonstrator paves the way for hybrid-electric airliner

It was just this July that we heard about the ES-30, a hybrid-electric airliner being developed by Swedish firm Heart Aerospace. Well, the company has now unveiled a full-scale demonstrator version of the plane, which should fly next year.

To recap our previous coverage, plans call for the 30-passenger ES-30 to utilize what's being referred to as a "reserve-hybrid" configuration.

What this means is that for flights of up to 200 km (124 miles), the aircraft will just use two electric motors located relatively close in to the fuselage on each wing. For going farther – up to 400 km (249 miles) – two small turboprop engines located farther out on the wings will kick in to extend the aircraft's range.

One charge of the aircraft's BAE-Systems-designed batteries should take only 30 minutes.

Like other electric airliners, the ES-30 should produce fewer carbon emissions than its conventional counterparts, while also being quieter, cheaper to operate, and easier to maintain. Additionally, because its electric motors quickly deliver maximum torque, it will be able to take off from runways as short as 1,100 m (3,609 ft) – with its turboprops helping.

Sporting a 32-meter (105-ft) wingspan, the fully-functional new demonstrator aircraft is the planned size of the ES-30.

It's called the Heart Experimental 1 (Heart X1), and will initially be utilized in ground-based testing of operations such as charging, taxiing and tarmac turnarounds. Following hardware tests to be conducted over the next several months, it should reportedly be making its first fully electric flight in the second quarter of 2025.

Heart Aerospace plans to subsequently build a pre-production prototype of the ES-30, called the Heart X2. Incorporating knowledge gained from development and testing of the X1, it is scheduled to make its first hybrid-electric flight in 2026.

If everything goes according to plan, the ES-30 should enter commercial use in 2028.

Source: Heart Aerospace