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In addition to optimising the weight of the distribution system, another objective of ASCEND is to significantly increase the power density of the propulsion chain. Liquid hydrogen to cool conventional technologies “Integrating these components will not only be a world first, but also an essential step towards future full-scale tests and flying demonstrators.” “With the ASCEND demonstrator, we’ll adapt ground-based cryogenic and superconducting technologies to a fully electric powertrain to confirm their potential at aircraft level,” explains Ludovic Ybanez, head of the ASCEND demonstrator. Cryogenically cooled motor control unitĪ ground demonstrator to explore the feasibility and application of "cold" electrical technologies for low-emission aircraft propulsion.A superconducting distribution system, including cables and protection item.To achieve this objective, ASCEND features a 500kW powertrain consisting of the following components: The three-year demonstrator project aims to show that an electric- or hybrid-electric propulsion system complemented by cryogenic and superconducting technologies can be more than 2 to 3 times lighter than a conventional system-through a reduction in cable weight and a limit of 30kW/kg in power electronics-without compromising a 97% powertrain efficiency. But high-temperature superconducting technologies are emerging as a promising solution to this technical conundrum, notably by increasing power density in the propulsion chain while significantly lowering the mass of the distribution system. In other words, today’s electrical systems simply do not meet the necessary power requirements without adding excess weight to the aircraft.
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One of the major challenges of scaling up electric propulsion to larger aircraft is the power-to-weight ratio. The twin power of cryogenics and superconductivity “With the ASCEND demonstrator, we’ll pave the way for a real breakthrough in electric propulsion for future aircraft,” said Sandra Bour Schaeffer, Airbus UpNext CEO Airbus UpNext is looking to change that with its latest ground-based demonstrator project ASCEND. However, superconductivity’s applications in the aerospace industry have yet to be fully explored. Particle accelerators and magnetic fusion devices.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machines.Today, superconductivity has a variety of practical applications, including the following: The discovery was so ground-breaking, it earned Kamerlingh Onnes the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physics. He called the phenomenon superconductivity, or the ability of certain materials to generate strong magnetic fields and conduct very high electric currents with practically zero resistance when exposed to very low temperatures. In 1911, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes found himself preoccupied with one question: what happens to the electrical conductivity of pure metals at very low temperatures? During an experiment, he immersed a wire made of solid mercury into liquid helium, and to his astonishment, found the wire’s electrical resistivity completely vanished at 4.2°Kelvin (-268.95☌). Today, the ASCEND demonstrator project by Airbus UpNext aims to mature these technologies to significantly boost the performance of electric- and hybrid-electric propulsion systems in future low-emission aircraft.
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The presence of a cold source, in the form of liquid hydrogen, alongside superconducting technologies promises to unlock new possibilities.