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Safran Electrical & Power successfully completes first GENeUS 300 ground test campaign

Business

Electrical hybridization of aircraft and propulsion systems is a key pillar of Safran's decarbonization strategy. That’s why Safran Electrical & Power has developed a very high power density motor-generator – GENeUSTM 300 – which is intended to hybridize the propulsion systems of the future. At the end of its first test campaign, this equipment demonstrated its ability to generate 300 kW, with an efficiency of around 96%.

GENeUS™ 300 : Smart Generator

The goal of Safran Electrical & Power's technology roadmap was to develop an extremely powerful, energy-dense rotating machine, capable of hybridizing the engines of the future. “GENeUSTM 300 is a technological marvel! We've compacted the power by a factor of three in volume compared with a conventional generator,” explains Florent Nierlich, Safran Electrical & Power’s Vice President, Technology and Innovation. 

GENeUSTM 300 has just successfully completed a 500-hour ground test campaign, in partnership with Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Helicopter Engines. This machine can be used to hybridize a new-generation aircraft engine or, when coupled with a turbine, to create a turbogenerator.

Tests and analyses have confirmed that GENeUSTM 300 is capable of delivering 300 kW, with an efficiency of around 96% and a power density of 10 kW/kg. The equipment is also capable of switching its function between a generator and an electric motor as required.

The results of this first ground test campaign are very encouraging, and demonstrate the complementary nature of expertise and technologies within the Group. Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Helicopter Engines have conducted parallel tests on different engines equipped with GENeUSTM 300. Electric hybridization is also one of the avenues being explored as part of the RISE technology development program1, to improve the propulsive efficiency of the next generation of motors for single-aisle aircraft, while enabling the electrification of numerous aircraft systems.

The GENeUSTM 300 motor-generator is a genuine breakthrough technology! Developing such a dense, powerful machine was an ambitious gamble. We are proud that the tests and analyses have confirmed its performance and demonstrated its full potential for the electric hybridization of aircraft. It's another step towards decarbonizing aviation,” concludes Bruno Bellanger, Executive Vice President & General Manager of Safran Electrical & Power's Power Division.

 

1 RISE is a program developed by CFM International, a 50/50 joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines and GE Aerospace.