easyJet’s partner Wright Electric has reached a new milestone with the successful test of a 2 megawatt electric powertrain motor, the most powerful electric propulsion motor of its kind in development.
On Tuesday (September 7, 2021), easyJet announced that their partner in the development of a zero-emissions single-aisle aircraft, Wright Electric, has successfully produced and tested a 2 megawatt electric powertrain motor. The electric propulsion motor is the most powerful of its kind in development and is a key component for the aircraft. The announcement follows the successful testing of next-generation inverter technology earlier this year. The next phase of development will include integration of the motor and inverter, high altitude chamber testing and the gathering of data for future aircraft certification. Wright currently plans for ground testing in 2021 and 2022, with flight testing as early as 2023. The company also announced that they will be opening a dedicated US-based Wright Laboratory and specialized motor test site later this year.
In today’s announcement, Wright Electric’s CEO, Jeff Engler, said,
“We have real momentum in our program from announcing the start of our megawatt scale electric motor program for a single-aisle commercial airliner in January 2020, the testing of our next-generation inverter technology in May 2021 to now begin testing of our 2 MW electric powertrain and gathering data for flight certification. Zero-emission commercial aircraft are the future and Wright is focused on, and on track, to deliver on that promise.”
Also commenting on Wright’s new milestone, easyJet’s Director of Flight Operations, David Morgan, said,
“We are delighted to see the promising and significant progress of Wright Electric's programme, in what will be ground-breaking technology. easyJet remains committed to more sustainable flying and we know zero-emission technology is where the solution lies for the industry. easyJet remains fully committed to supporting the development of these new technologies and to be an early adopter when they come to market.”
The motor will be scalable from 500 kw to 4 MW systems and will target various levels of performance. Wright will use 10 2MW on its Wright 1 aircraft for a total of 20 MW of power, as powerful as one of easyJet’s Airbus A320s operating today.
Albany, New York (U.S.) based Wright Electric, Inc. is building technologies for large commercial airplanes. The company is currently developing their flagship airplane, the Wright 1, which will be a 186-seat single aisle airliner with an 800 mile range. The company hopes to achieve entry to service for the Wright 1 by 2030 and is working with commercial airlines including easyJet and VivaAerobus. In addition to the newly announced U.S. DOE’s ARPA-E funding, the company is funded by Y Combinator, the Clean Energy Trust and venture funds.
Source(s): easyJet, Wright Electric