Proposal for Research Project
Range-Extender System for E-Birds using SBSP
Background:
ElectricMobilityisrevolutionizingthelogisticsandtransportationindustries,startingwithE-carstohelpachieve net zero transport. For the years before 2017, traditional auto manufacturers such as Toyota, Volkswagen and MercedesBenzwerethemarketleadersbutthenTeslamadeitsrapidentryintothetop10listsandtherestishistory. Tesla’s obvious success is not only because of environmental concerns about traditional auto technology or governmentsubsidiariesbutalsobetterdesign,lowermaintenancerequirements,robustnessandthesmartfeatures inherent in electric mobility. In short, battery electric vehicles, and in particular Tesla, have totally disrupted the marketplace,asshownbythefactthatTeslahavebecomebyfarthelargestautomanufacturerintheWorld.
Butwhataboutheavydutyvehiclessuchaselectrictrucks,aircraftandships?Therearemanyresearchprograms activeinthisareaandafewcommercialsolutionshavealreadyreachedthemarketbutthemainchallengeisthatof limitedrange:inotherwords-energystorageistheproblemthatrequiresasolution.
Somecompanieshavetakentheapproachofputtinglargenumbersofbatterypacksintotheirtrucks,forexample, the400kWhbatterypacksontheElectricActrostruckbutevenwithlargeamountsofstorage,therangeisunable toexceed400km.OtherapproachestoincreaserangehaveinvolvedusingFuelCellscombinedwithhydrogentanks orevenusinghydrogenasadropinreplacementfuelinspeciallyadaptedcombustionengines,buttheimprovements inrangewerenegligibleduetothefactthathydrogenenergydensityisafractionoffossilfuels&sothistechnology didnotdeliveraviablesolution.
Conventional thinking indicates that developments in battery technologies will eventually deliver significant increasesinenergydensity.Butenergydensitywillneedtoincrease10-foldtodelivercommerciallyusefulranges for electric trucks, aircraft and ships. These sorts of improvements to energy density are simply not predicted to happenevenbythemostoptimisticproponentsofcurrentbatterytechnologies.
Forelectricaviationtheproblemsareevenmoreacutethanfortrucksandships.Eveniftherearebigtechnological improvementsinbatterystorage&hydrogentanks,thesesolutionscannotworkinthecontextofe-aviationbecause they’resimplytooheavy.Fore-aviation,maximumtakeoffweightisthelimitingfactor,sowhenalotofbatterypacks orhydrogentanksareinstalledinanelectricaircraft,netpayloaddramaticallydecreases,whichmeansthattheeaircraftcancarryfewerpassengersorlesscargo,thusreducingprofitabilitysubstantially.
Tobecommerciallyviable,electricaviationneedstosolveoneofthebiggestchallengesinaviation.Eithersolvethe problemofenergydensity,whichthegraphstellusisatleastagenerationawaybaseduponcurrenttechnologies,or findanothersolution.Oursolutionfore-aviationnotonlydeliversbettersavingsinCO2 emissionswhencompared toexistingbatterysolutions,butcanconsiderablyimprovesafety,bycarryinglessfuel&batteriesinthefirstplace, deliveringhighernetpayloadsforbetterefficiencyandwithfewertechnicalstops.Howdoweachievethis?Through ouruniqueapproach- TM
Abstract:
Space-basedsolarpower(SBSP),wirelesspowertransmission&electricaircraftarerapidlydevelopingtechnologies allmakingtheirwaysoutoftherealmsofscientificfiction,almostatsametime!
Ourresearchproposestoaligntheabovementionedtechnologiesduringa10-20yearperiodtodeliverlongrange electricmobilityinair,seaandontheground,withouthavingtocarryhugefueltanksorbatterystoragearrays.
Electric Aviation can be not only CLEAN aviation, but much more EFFICIENT & SAFE aviation
WebelieveE-aviationshouldbeabletosolveoneofthebiggestchallengesinconventionalaviation!It’snolonger only about zero emission flights, but can considerably improve safety by carrying less fuel & fewer batteries, delivering more efficient flights, increasing net payloads & requiring fewer technical stops! But HOW? Simply by TM-ingaircraftduringflights! TM
We are developing technologies towards full Commercial Readiness within the next 10-20 years but the key technologies already exist and are well understood. We already have space-based solar stations designed and launchedinearly2023toGeosynchronous(GEO)orbit(35,786km),whichharvestsolarenergyusingultra-light, highefficiencyPVmodules,convertingthissolarpowertoRadioFrequency(RF)powertransmission,anddelivering cleanenergytoground-basedormobilerectennapotentiallyatthescaleofgigawatts.Thesesystemsusemicrowave beamsinthe8-10GHzrange,whicharenon-ionizinginnatureandwithintensitiesthatarelowereventhansunlight, so the systems areclean,safe, efficientandhave beencalculated to be price-competitive with ground-based solar power.Whilstthesespace-basedsolarstationsareexpensivetoinstallinGEOorbits,theygenerateenergy24/7at muchhigherefficienciesthanground-basedarrays,duetolackofreflectionandabsorptionbytheatmosphereand a better constant orientation towards the sun. But if we have more economic orbits like LEO where hundreds of Starlinksatellitesarecurrentlyoperating,thatcouldbeafractionofthecosts.It'spossibletohavehighlyeconomic satellites in specially-designed LEO orbits to enable power generation more than 60-70% of the time or to be receivingpowerbeamedfromGEOsolarstationsandactingasrelaystosendthepoweronwardsbyutilizingstate ofthearttechnologytolockenergybeamstoE-birdsalongtheirflightpaths.Thisis TM
TocoverthewholeNorthAtlanticarea(containingmanyofthemostcommoncommercialflightpaths),werequire c. 16-24 LEO satellites flying in 500 km orbits, using a smart communication systems to receive energy demand signals from a E-birds/E-ships, selecting the closest satellite & sending a locked microwave energy beam to a rectennaontheaircraft(1-3mdiameterdependingonaircrafttype&chargingpowerrequirement),converttoDC andchargetheonboardbatteryarrays
Thisapproachwillremovetheneedtocarrytonsofbatterystorageorfuel,provides(theoretically)limitlessrange andremovestheneedfortechnicalstops,resultinginsignificantimprovementsinnetpayloadandsafety.Allthishas thepotentialtorevolutionizethewholeaviationandshippingindustries,notjustbydrasticallyreducingemissions, butthroughvastimprovementsinefficiency&safety.Thisispossibleduetoourinnovativesolution: ™
T:01412282282
W:cavu.aero
TMmajorcomponents:
▪ SomeGEObasedsolarstationstogeneratepower(canbedevelopedbyourgrouporwecanutilizeexisting systemsbuiltbyindustryleaders).
▪ A network of LEO sats to generate and receive power and build TM zone(s) of operation, managechargestorageanddistributionincludingcommunicationbetweensatellitesandrelayingenergyto E-birds/Shipswhichrequirepowerdelivery,lockingon&sendingenergybeamtoreceiverswiththerequired numberofLEOsatellitesina TMzonedependentupontheareatobecovered.
▪ RectennamodulesonE-birds/ShipstoreceiveenergyandconverttoDCusableenergy.
We believe that our proposed systems would be a highly efficient way of keeping E-birds/Ships charged during missions,canbeprice-competitivebecauseit’sbasedprincipallyupontheuseofLEOsatellitenetworkswhichcan bedevelopedgraduallystartingfromadefined TMzoneandthenscaleduptoeventuallyprovidewhole Earth coverage. We therefore believe thatinvestment into the developmentof the TM systems is an opportunity potentially leading to disruption of the whole aviation & shipping industries, solving all the major technical, commercial and environmental challenges at same time. So, in coming years, the operator of the TMnetwork,whetheritisacompany,agencyoraconsortiumofpartners,couldbethekeyproviderof energyservicestoallaircraft&shipsoveralargeareaoftheEarth’ssurface.
Project Outline:
1.Missionanalysis/needsidentificationandplanning:
▪ E-birds/Shipsrequirements
▪ Satellite&Launchlimitationsandrequirements
▪ Feasibilitystudy
▪ Surveyofrelatedprojects
▪ Involvedtechnologies&innovations
▪ Relatedprojects:
➢ Ultra-lightspacePVwith>30%eff.
➢ Antenna,Relays
➢ Thermalsolutions
➢ E-birds/Shipsrectenna,storagecharging
▪ ProjectIPProtection
2.Conceptualdesign:
▪ Statisticaldesignofmissionandsatellite
▪ Space-basedPVforxkW&yMWmodules
▪ Antenna,Relays
▪ E-birdsrectenna,storagecharging
▪ Spaceorbitdesign
▪ Satellitesubsystemdesign;suchasElectricalpower,TT&C,Structureandmechanism,thermalcontrol, Attitudedeterminationandcontrol,Propulsion,Onboardcomputerandpayload
3.Detaileddesign&simulationsfor:
▪ Missiondetaileddesign
▪ Range-extendersystembySpace-basedPVfor:
➢ EVTOLwith5kW(TBC)engine
➢ E-Aircraftwith2*650kW(TBC)engines
▪ Allsubsystemsofsatellites(bothLEOandGEO)
4.Prototypesandengineeringmodel
▪ Stage1:Ground-to-E-Birdsrangeextendersystemfor:
➢ EVTOLwith5kW(TBC)engine
➢ E-Aircraftwith2*650kW(TBC)engines
▪ Stage2:Space-basedPVrangeextendersystemfor:
➢ E-Aircraftwith2*650kW(TBC)engines
▪ Testandanalyzeresults
5.TechnologydevelopmenttobecommerciallyavailableinUKaerospace,NorthAtlantic,…
Goals and achievements of the project
Project life cycle in ECSS standard
Phases 0, A, and B arefocusedmainlyon:
▪ Elaborationofsystemfunctionalandtechnicalrequirementsandidentificationofsystemconceptstocomply withthemissionstatement,takingintoaccountthetechnicalandprogrammaticconstraintsidentifiedbythe projectinitiatorandtop-levelcustomer.
▪ Identification of all activities and resources to be used to develop the space and ground segments of the project,
▪ Initialassessmentsoftechnicalandprogrammaticrisk,
▪ Initiationofpre-developmentactivities.
Phases C and D comprise all activities to be performed in order to develop and qualify the space and ground segmentsandtheirproducts.
Phase E comprises all activities to be performedinorder to launch, commission, utilize,andmaintainthe orbital elementsofthespacesegmentandutilizeandmaintaintheassociatedgroundsegment.
Phase F comprisesallactivitiestobeperformedinordertosafelydisposeallproductslaunchedintospaceaswell asgroundsegment.
Each of the above projectphases includes end milestones in the form of project review(s), the outcome of which determines readiness of the project to move forward to the next phase. With the exception of the MDR which normallyinvolvesonlytheprojectinitiator,andthetop-levelcustomer,allotherprojectreviewsuptoandincluding theARaretypicallycarriedoutbyallprojectactorsdowntothelowestlevelsupplierinthecustomer-supplierchain involvedintheprojectphasescontainingthesereviews.
FromthePRRtothePDR,thesequenceofthereviewsis“topdown”,startingwiththetop-levelcustomerandhistoplevelsupplier,andcontinuingdownthecustomer-supplierchaintothelowestlevelsupplier.FromtheCDRtothe AR,thesequenceofreviewsisreversedto“bottomup”,startingwiththelowestlevelsupplieranditscustomerand continuingupthroughthecustomer-supplierchaintothe1stlevelsupplierandthetop-levelcustomer.Thissocalled “Vmodel”isillustratedinFigure.
Project deliverables
Thelistofitemsandequipmenttobedeliveredtotheprojectisincludedinthetablebelow.
<700kgSATPower >4kW/kg
UltralightfoldableconcentratedPV-antennamodules<100g/m2
DC/RF8-10GHzMicrowaveBeam
Time-phasecontrolbeam
LEO Relay
Satellites
2mwiderectennaonE-bird
Power:XkW
8-12 km
2kmwideGroundrectenna
Power:XMW
500 km
22MontroseSt.,G1
T:01412282282
W:cavu.aero
37,000 km
1RE,Glasgow,UK
E:info@cavu.aero
