Developing a clean-sheet hybrid-electric propulsion regional aircraft that integrates the most promising technologies to reduce fuel consumption, noise, and emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide demands close cooperation with the entire aviation “ecosystem,” according to Marco Protti, head of advanced research at the aircraft division of Italian aerospace and defense group Leonardo. “If we are not in a condition to create an uptake in the market for this new aircraft, we will fail in our goal to deliver a zero-emission aircraft,” he remarked in a panel discussion on hybrid-electric regional aircraft at the recent Clean Aviation Annual Forum in Brussels.
“We cannot be looking just at the aircraft, but [we need to look at] the full system that is around the aircraft to make sure it is a possible solution for air mobility,” Protti added. Moreover, the hybrid-electric regional airliner must provide a solution that complies with the very specific environment in which it operates, Protti said, noting that the regional segment is a relatively low-cost market. “Our community customer has a very precise business case. We cannot imagine destroying this business case,“ he explained. “One of the characteristics of a regional aircraft, for instance, the ATR family, is that it is very efficient, very simple to operate, and it has a low cost of ownership for the customers. The low cost of ownership is not a secondary parameter.”
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