Maglev Aero Debuts Magnetic Propulsion Know-how in Paris, Companions with GE

Startup guarantees environment friendly and ultraquiet eVTOL flights utilizing magnetic levitation expertise.

By Jack Daleo

A top-down view of an eVTOL deploying MagLev’s HyperDrive electrical propulsion system. [Courtesy: MagLev Aero]

This week on the Paris Air Present, MagLev Aero co-founders and father-and-son duo Rod and Ian Randall debuted their state-of-the-art propulsion system for electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown (eVTOL) plane utilizing an unlikely power supply: magnets.

Maglev is shorthand for magnetic levitation, a time period that just about sounds made up. However the propulsion system is definitely pretty widespread, steadily deployed to energy high-speed trains. MagLev Aero, nonetheless, is working to use it to eVTOL plane and has already been issued greater than 20 patents for its expertise.

The startup’s progress is underpinned by a improvement partnership with GE Additive’s AddWorks, a consultancy throughout the automaker’s design and manufacturing arm specializing in 3D printing, introduced Tuesday.

“I’m thrilled to disclose the breakthrough propulsion expertise now we have been working so diligently and passionately on for the previous few years in stealth,” mentioned Ian Randall, the startup’s CEO. “Our proprietary MagLev HyperDrive platform will allow a brand new era of eVTOL designs which can be dramatically extra quiet, environment friendly, protected, sustainable, and emotionally interesting to the mass market.”

Because the youthful Randall alluded to, MagLev emerged from stealth only a few weeks in the past. Ian, an aerospace engineer, and his father, Rod, a board member at electrical automobile producer Fisker, based the corporate in Boston to unravel the issue of noise in eVTOL flight—a problem a number of aviation authorities are additionally working to deal with.

To scale back eVTOL noise to a whisper, MagLev is deploying a number of distinctive ideas. Probably the most overseas is, after all, a magnetic levitation propulsion system, which within the context of high-speed rail makes use of magnetic bearings to droop trains above the observe. The system permits the prepare to “glide” alongside the rail with out creating friction. However in MagLev’s HyperDrive design, these bearings are oriented in a circle throughout the rotor, which sits beneath a many-bladed rim.

Electrical propulsion is distributed evenly and redundantly across the rotor’s perimeter utilizing a mixture of magnets and segmented motor management. That permits excessive hover-lift effectivity whereas decreasing hover noise under that of conventional helicopters and eVTOLs, MagLev mentioned. The redundant orientation additionally permits HyperDrive to operate even after a rotor failure.

MagLev’s many-bladed rim basically “floats” above the rotor. Its skinny, swept blades are extra quite a few than a typical eVTOL’s, which reduces noise in three key methods: decrease tip pace, decrease blade loading, and elevated load on the outer blade span. Most eVTOL and helicopter designs function fewer, thicker blades that produce excessive tip pace and blade loading.

Usually, extra blades present larger raise on the expense of elevated energy and blade loading. However in keeping with MagLev, HyperDrive concentrates the load on the outer blade span, which really reduces blade loading and tip pace because of the rim’s excessive variety of blades.

Actually, regardless of the design’s skinny blades, MagLev claims HyperDrive can obtain the identical raise as a traditional eVTOL with considerably decrease tip pace and revolutions per minute (RPM)—which dramatically reduces noise.

Importantly, although, MagLev is just not constructing its personal eVTOL. Reasonably, it plans to promote HyperDrive to an OEM that’s trying to experiment with novel expertise.

“We consider our HyperDrive innovation applies to a wide range of sizes, configurations, and use instances, and we look ahead to working with OEMs and different companions to carry our expertise to market,” mentioned Rod Randall, MagLev’s chairman.

In line with the startup, it’s already in talks with an unspecified variety of “main aerospace OEMs.” It has additionally garnered assist from distinguished expertise buyers and business leaders, together with Materials Impression, Grit Capital, Moai Capital (all of that are listed as buyers on PitchBook), Breakthrough Vitality Ventures, and Stage 1 Ventures, amongst others.

On Tuesday, MagLev additionally introduced a strategic collaboration with GE Additive’s AddWorks, a worldwide staff of greater than 70 engineers identified for working with rising expertise corporations—together with aviation startups like Increase Supersonic and Eaton Aerospace.

AddWorks’ specialty is additive manufacturing, the commercial manufacturing time period for 3D printing. It’s going to use that experience to develop new manufacturing processes and supplies for HyperDrive, which ought to assist MagLev refine its design in future iterations.

“This can be a main step for MagLev Aero, and we’re thrilled to harness the facility of GE Additive’s in depth business expertise, cutting-edge steel additive manufacturing methods, and confirmed observe document of designing and fabricating additive manufactured propulsion parts that fulfill the stringent necessities of aerospace certification,” mentioned Ian Randall.

The elder Randall added that the partnership will assist HyperDrive “obtain optimum power and stiffness on the lightest weight” earlier than the expertise is rolled out to the plenty.

Whereas MagLev’s eVTOL propulsion system continues to be in improvement—and sure a number of years away from industrial deployment—the agency believes it should discover a dwelling in each passenger and cargo plane.

Supply: FLYING