NASA Building New Electric Propulsion Technology for Aircraft

February 10, 2016 – Entitled Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech), this experimental hybrid-electric propulsion system will soon move from a test bed on the back of a truck at Edwards Air Force Base in California, to a demonstration X-plane expected to fly in 2019. The LEAPTech wing stretches 9.5 meters (31 feet) and incorporates 18 electric motors powered by lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.

Why lithium-iron-phosphate batteries as opposed to lithium-ion?

Also known as nanophosphate lithium batteries, this technology is known for its lighter weight and compact size. It also generates large amounts of power at a consistent discharge rate. The battery is capable of at least one thousand recharge cycles without losing capacity. Lithium-ion-phosphate batteries are currently used for motorcycles as a replacement for traditional lead-based or lithium-ion battery packs. They are considered to be more eco-friendly.

The material for the wing, seen in the image below, is a carbon composite, making it light and durable. The motors are asynchronous which means they operate independently at various speeds. This configuration and design produces more than double the lift at low speeds than traditional propeller-driven aircraft.

For air testing the technology, NASA has picked an existing airframe, the Tecnam P2006T. The existing wing will be removed and replaced by the LEAPTech design. The resulting aircraft, dubbed Sceptor, which stands for Scalable Convergent Electric Propulsion Technology and Operations Research (you have to love those NASA acronyms), will be a nine-passenger aircraft. Sceptor will generate 700 horsepower from the 500 kilowatt capacity of its 18-electric-powered propellers.