Daher EcoPulse starts hybrid-electric flight test campaign

The Daher TBM EcoPulse technology demonstrator has successfully completed its first flight using its six electromotors. The aircraft operated a 1 hour 38 minutes flight out of Tarbes on November 29 and did another 19-minute test flight today in hybrid-electric mode. Previous flights were powered by a conventional Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop.

The EcoPulse is a joint project of aircraft makers Daher, Airbus, and engine maker Safran. The project was announced at the  2019 Paris Airshow

and aims to demonstrate hybrid-electric propulsion systems on a small airplane. Lessons learned can be applied to larger-scale aircraft projects. EcoPulse is supported by the French regulatory agency DGAC and the Civil Aviation Research Council CORAC.

The modified Daher TBM 900 retains the PT6 engine in the nose, but features three small Safran ePropellers on each wing. The electromotors get electricity from a turbogenerator that is driven by a Safran gas turbine. The electricity is stored in high-energy-density battery packs that have been developed by Airbus, as is the flight control computer system. Rated at 800 Volts Direct Current, the batteries deliver 350 kW of power. For redundancy, four electromotors get electricity from the batteries and two from the auxiliary power unit (APU).