Hybrid airship revived by electrification

Unfortunately, it is said that the Airlander 10, a hybrid airship that was retired shortly after the test flight, raised 1 million pounds (1.5 billion KRW) for a retrofit that converts power from hybrid to electric.

The project is said to be E-HAV1 associated with Hybrid Air Vehicles, which are developing aircraft funded by the UK Aerospace Technology Research Program. The electric airship is equipped with a 500kW motor and it will take years to build the motor. However, once the motor is built, it will be able to be used not only for passengers, but also for many purposes.

The Airlander 10 fills a huge balloon with helium gas to gain buoyancy. It was originally designed for the US military long endurance multi-intelligence reconnaissance aircraft LEMV (Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle) development project. However, as the plan was suspended, HAV, who was in charge of the development, secured it and repeated test flights to operate it as a commercial diesel hybrid airship.

The Airlander 10 prototype went on test flights six times. However, in the second test flight held in August 2016, it was damaged by contacting the ground. Afterwards, HAV declared that it was able to collect sufficient test data, and decided to use it for passengers or cargo.

This electrification remodeling plan could make a big contribution to reducing carbon dioxide emissions during flight. It is also a result of reflecting some of the ideology of HAV. However, if you electrify an airship built for a long-distance flight for five consecutive days, you may be concerned about how much battery power will be consumed per flight. Even if solar panels are attached to the entire surface of the huge aircraft, it will be difficult to continuously operate 500kW power.

The design of the new airship is already underway, and work is expected soon. Related information can be found here .