Heart Aerospace, a Swedish manufacturer of hybrid-electric aircraft, has been selected for a $4.1 million grant under the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) FAST (Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition) program to develop control systems for its innovative hybrid propulsion system, it reported Heart Aerospace in a press release.
The work related to the grant will be performed in the US and will be based on Heart’s growing footprint in the United States centered on the recently opened research and development center in Los Angeles.
The funding will be used to fuel the development of a first-of-its-kind control system called the Hybrid Propulsion Automated Control System (HPACS). This unique technology will enable an aircraft-level energy management system that will automate hybrid power sources to ensure safe operations and minimize fuel burn, emissions, and noise while being transparent to the crew.
Heart is developing the ES-30, a hybrid electric regional aircraft, that is not only environmentally friendly but also cost-effective, making regional air travel more affordable and allowing airlines to reopen lost regional air routes in the US. The FAST grant program was made possible by the US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and aims to accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable aviation technologies in the US.
The FAA’s FAST Grant scheme awarded $244.5 million in grants for SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) projects and $46.5 million in grants for new aviation technologies.
Heart Aerospace is one of the hybrid aviation projects that has reached the furthest point in development, with supporting airlines as Air Canada, United Airlines, Mesa Airlines, and SAS which already symbolically sold tickets for the first electric (hybrid) flight. The ES-30 is a regional aircraft concept with a capacity of 30 passengers. The planned electric range is 200 km, and the hybrid (with 25 passengers) of 800 km. The calculation was made on the basis of the average mass of passengers and luggage of 25 kg per passenger. Heart Aerospace also emphasizes a short charging time of only 30 minutes, which will speed up the turnaround time. The planned certification of the aircraft is in 2028.
