Preliminary Design of Regional Aircraft—Integration of a Fuel Cell-Electric Energy Network in SUAVE

To enable climate-neutral aviation, improving the energy efficiency of aircraft is essential. The research project Synergies of Highly Integrated Transport Aircraft investigates cross-disciplinary synergies in aircraft and propulsion technologies to achieve energy savings. This study examines a fuel cell electric powered configuration with distributed electric propulsion. For this, a reverse-engineered ATR 72-500 serves as a reference model for calibrating the methods and ensuring accurate performance modeling. A baseline configuration featuring a state-of-the-art turboprop engine with the same entry-into-service is also introduced for a meaningful performance comparison. The analysis uses an enhanced version of the Stanford University Aerospace Vehicle Environment (SUAVE), a Python-based aircraft design environment that allows for novel energy network architectures. This paper details the preliminary aircraft design process, including calibration, presents the resulting aircraft configurations, and examines the integration of a fuel cell-electric energy network. The results provide a foundation for higher fidelity studies and performance comparisons, offering insights into the trade-offs associated with hydrogen-based propulsion systems. All fundamental equations and methodologies are explicitly presented, ensuring transparency, clarity, and reproducibility. This comprehensive disclosure allows the broader scientific community to utilize and refine these findings, facilitating further progress in hydrogen-powered aviation technologies.