Wright develops inverter for zero-emissions aircraft

Wright Electric has developed an inverter for large zero-emissions aircraft. Designed to be scalable from 500 kW to 20 MW systems, the Wright inverter targets the following performance levels:

• 99.5% efficiency—a 6x improvement in heat loss over current in-production aviation inverters resulting in lower thermal management loads.
• 30 kW/kg power density—in contrast, today’s technology delivers 10-20 kW/kg. On a standard single-aisle aircraft, this would result in a weight savings equivalent to 5-10 passengers per flight.

“The level of performance demonstrated with our new inverter will become the baseline for any new electric aircraft, and is a key technology in our megawatt system,” said CEO Jeff Engler. “In January 2020, we announced the start of our megawatt-scale electric motor program for a single-aisle commercial airliner. Over the coming months, Wright will be making additional announcements regarding the progress of our integrated propulsion system.”

The inverter will now proceed to the next phase of development, including integration with an in-house-developed 2 MW motor, high-altitude chamber testing and qualification for flight readiness.

Source: Wright Electric