Wright Electric Inc. reports progress in engineering a key building block toward development and certification of the first commercially viable, zero-emissions single-aisle aircraft. A MW-class high-performance inverter is now being tested and demonstrated.
Whether a future airplane is battery-electric or powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, an inverter is a key component in high-voltage aircraft electric systems. The new system designed to convert the DC power from batteries to the AC power required by the propulsion system’s electric motors is scalable from 500 kW to 20 MW.
The developers are targeting an efficiency level of 99.5% to realize a six-fold improvement in heat loss over current in-production aviation inverters and significantly lower thermal management loads. Achieving a 30 
kW/kg power density would result in a weight savings equivalent to adding an extra five to 10 passengers per flight on a standard single-aisle aircraft.
The inverters are designed for a high-frequency drive and feature a 300 kHz high-frequency output, compared to standard inverters that have 50 kHz to 100 kHz frequencies. This is a novel switching technology that reduces total losses by a factor of two over similarly rated systems.
The next phase of development will involve inverter integration with an in-house developed 2 MW motor, high altitude chamber testing and qualification for flight readiness.
