Hybrid jet planned

WELLINGTON: A team of Victoria University researchers hopes to use their expertise to help build the world’s first hybridelectric jet plane.

Three researchers from the university’s Robinson Research Institute have been invited to a Nasa session in Wisconsin next month, when the topic of electric aircraft will be on the table, while another two members have been part of the team working on Nasa’s Electric Aircraft Technology Roadmap.

The institute’s principal engineer and deputy director Rod Badcock said emissions from planes had grown 75% since 1990 so it was important a cleaner alternative was found quickly.

‘‘However, electric planes pose a bigger challenge as they will require very highpower propulsion systems which are subject to stringent weight constraints,’’ he said.

‘‘The only feasible approach is hightorque, highspeed machines that employ high temperature superconductors.’’

Helping to build the world’s first hybridelectric jet plane would have a considerable impact on the New Zealand economy and help us meet our Paris Agreement obligations, Dr Badcock said.

‘‘New Zealand depends on aviation,’’ he said.

A hybridelectric aircraft would increase aircraft fuel efficiency by more than 33%, Dr Badcock said, by using highspeed electric motors to drive turbofans. — NZN