AEROSPACE
Kn aerospace-led skybus collaboration project completes successful feasibility studies.
- Skybus research project has identified unique opportunities for air ‘buses’ to operate alongside air taxis in the rapidly growing urban air mobility sector
- Skybus was launched under the Future Flight Challenge in January 2021 as a GKN Aerospace-led project, in collaboration with Swanson Aviation Consultancy, Pascall+Watson and Connected Places Catapult
The Skybus collaboration project has reached a key milestone by completing the initial feasibility studies. The research project has explored the potential for a six-rotor, 30-person eVTOL concept to help decarbonize and decongest urban landscapes.
Siemens and Protium have initiated the Digital Twin project, which aims to digitalise the development of green hydrogen infrastructure for aircraft. The companies will develop rapid refuelling technology via a ‘digital twin’ approach to accelerate design and testing.
This deploys a digital model of the refuelling system to explore the decision space to optimise system design, then simulate and optimise real-world performance, reducing the need for expensive prototyping.
Hydrogen technologies are essential to support the 2050 net zero target for domestic flights.