Heart Aerospace secures $2.9m FAA award to advance turbogenerator development for ES-36
The award will support a 24-month, $5.8 million project aimed at assessing how turbine-generated electricity can supplement battery power and extend the aircraft’s range.
Los Angeles-based electric aircraft developer Heart Aerospace has secured $2.9 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop and test the turbogenerator for its ES-36 hybrid-electric regional aircraft.
The funding was awarded under the fourth phase of the FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) programme. Launched in 2010, CLEEN supports the development of more sustainable aviation technologies through cost-sharing agreements between the FAA and aerospace manufacturers.
Heart is one of five companies awarded a two-year agreement under the latest phase, alongside Boeing, GE Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace and JetZero.
The award follows Heart’s 23 September unveiling of the 36-seat ES-36 and its announcement of a purchase agreement with JSX for up to 100 ES-36 aircraft.
The FAA funding will cover half the cost of the $5.8 million Heart expects to spend on the 24-month project focused on developing a megawatt-class turbogenerator for the ES-36’s hybrid-electric propulsion system. The turbogenerator is designed to produce electricity during flight to supplement battery power and extend the aircraft’s range.
Heart is aiming for an all-electric range of 125 miles (201km) and a hybrid-electric range of up to 745 miles (1,199km) for the ES-36.
The project will initially focus on ground testing to evaluate how the turbogenerator interacts with the aircraft’s batteries and electric motors across various operating modes before moving to flight testing using a pre-production ES-36.
The pre-production aircraft is expected to make its first flight in 2028.
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