E-Hansa Takes Shape: NAL’s Indigenous Electric Aircraft Project Gains Momentum

• National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) is advancing work on the E-Hansa Technology Demonstrator, India’s first indigenous electric trainer aircraft, marking a major step in homegrown electric-aviation capabilities.
• The project is developing an in-house electric powertrain and composite airframe, expected to make the aircraft nearly 50% cheaper than imported alternatives.
• Backed by IIST collaboration and government support for green aviation, the E-Hansa’s powerplant is expected to be tested within a year, with its maiden flight targeted in three to five years.
  

Injecting dynamism into India’s first attempt to develop an indigenous electric airplane, the Bengaluru-based National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has commenced work on an E-Hansa, a trainer aircraft. But the first variant will be a Technology Demonstrator (TD) designed to guide the evolution of an electric aviation ecosystem in the country. 

The TD will showcase India’s capability to develop an indigenous electric engine and power plant in India. “The first version will be made to figure out what is to be done. We want to develop the power plant indigenously. Unlike the Hansa-3 and Hansa-NG, we want to make E-Hansa engine in India, an electric one which will come with multiple challenges,” NAL Director Dr. Abhay Anant Pashilkar told Aviation Jeta in an exclusive interaction. 

Indigenisation is being pushed to dramatically reduce the costs. By current estimates, the made in India E-Hansa will work out to be about ₹2 crore, about 50% cheaper than a foreign-made equivalent. 

The electric aircraft will be built on the upgraded Hansa-NG, featuring advanced glass cockpits for digital displays and enhanced situational awareness, a bubble canopy for improved pilot comfort and panoramic visibility, and electrically operated flaps, all enclosed in a lightweight composite airframe. 

In collaboration with NAL, the Thiruvananthapuram-based Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) is tasked with the development and technology demonstration of the powertrain for the E-Hansa.

Battery weight challenge

For NAL, the electric aircraft’s battery weight will pose a formidable technological challenge. As Dr Abhay explained:

“Energy density is the critical part. The question is how much energy you can store per kg of the battery weight. Ordinary lead-acid batteries used in automobiles will not work out. Then the Lithium chemistry comes in, but you have to handle them very carefully as it can explode. These are being used in automobiles, but the energy density achieved is not sufficient for airborne operations, as the battery weight starts dominating. The aircraft’s weight-carrying capacity reduces.”

The E-Hansa first variant, he said, will demonstrate that an electric power train can be developed indigenously. “In an internal combustion engine, like in Hansa-3 or the NG, the power train features the propeller, IC engine, fuel pump, etc. Whatever power train we are assembling for the E-Hansa, we will need to test it on the ground. It should be able to withstand many hours of continuous operation without much of a problem.”

Ensuring foolproof safety will be another key priority. “If something fails, there should be a backup like in a UPS. When we present all these concepts to the certification agency, they may allow us to put these on the aircraft and complete the first flight. It is not so simple that you buy an engine, make an airframe, buy the propeller, put in the avionics, test it on the ground and fly,” he said. 

Range anxiety was a widespread concern in the early days of electric vehicles before steps were taken to improve the charging infrastructure. As efforts to reduce the aircraft battery weight gain ground, the range dynamics will come into play.

Dr Abhay elaborated: “To address this, we can think of adopting the modular battery model, where the aircraft lands, and the battery is removed and replaced with a new, fully charged one. Some of these ideas have to take shape, and the ground infrastructure too should support it. Only then will this EV revolution in the air take place.” 

Hansa-NG avionics & airframe

The E-Hansa will stick with Hansa-NG’s avionics and airframe while entirely reworking the engine. “Then you will have to balance the weight and determine the battery location. Questions on how much to keep and where to keep will have to be addressed. When you replace the fuel tank with the battery, you have to rearrange it in such a way that the balance between the weight and centre of gravity is not disturbed. We are working on all these things now.” 

The maiden flight of the E-Hansa TD is expected in three to five years, according to the NAL director. Work on designing the test bed has already commenced. He expressed confidence that the power plant could be ready in a year’s time. “By that time, our test rig will be ready, on which we will be testing ready-made motors. We are also making propellers; hope they will also get qualified,” he informed. 

Parallel to IIST developing the electric powertrain, an Aeronautics Research and Development Board (AR&DB)-funded project, NAL has started procuring a readymade motor to set up a test rig. Dr Abhay said the focus will inevitably shift to the indigenous powertrain once it is ready. 

NAL had started work on a composite lightweight airframe right from the first version of the Hansa. “We have mastered unidirectional and bidirectional composites, even materials that can withstand high temperatures. We have developed different types of resins and fibres that can withstand a certain temperature beyond which they start to lose their strength. It is a tailored material. The resins and fibres have to be made in good quantity. We do all these at NAL, and that’s why it was logical for us to think of Hansa as a first all-composite aircraft. We learnt a lot of things with Hansa and Hansa-3, even before the NG variant,” he explained.

Composite airframe positives

The adoption of a composite airframe has helped NAL considerably reduce the aircraft weight. The processes of co-bonding and co-curing, where multiple parts are cured and bonded together, have negated the need for rivets and fasteners. This resulted in a significant reduction in the number of parts. 

Once the TD is ready, NAL will approach the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for clearance as a civil aircraft. A series of flight tests will follow to gain confidence and experience. The flight range will be expanded in phases, and the flight envelope and altitude will be improved. 

In May this year, at a monthly review meeting with senior science and technology officials in New Delhi, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh had declared that the E-Hansa project was a step towards realising green aviation in India. The project, he said, was aligned to the Centre’s stated focus on clean energy adoption in aviation and broader climate goals.

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