The Wild Green Yonder

VerdeGo Aero, the Florida-based maker of customizable eVTOL propulsion systems, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to perform an advanced risk reduction study on the company’s VH-3-185 hybrid powerplant.

The $1.2 million contract was awarded under a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)—a competitive process by which governmental agencies obtain solutions or new capabilities that fulfill requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technological advances. Per its SBIR contract, VerdeGo will vet the military and commercial applications of its VH-3-185 hybrid propulsion unit and the various technologies upon which the contraption’s function is predicated.

Designed for use in electric aircraft, the VH-3-185 is VerdeGo’s third-generation hybrid powerplant. The propulsion system comprises a certified aircraft diesel engine capable of burning either jet fuel or sustainable aviation fuel. The mill’s thermally-generated kinetic energy is converted into electricity by which arrays of electric motors are powered. The mechanical shaft-horsepower of the electric motors is subsequently plied to the turning of a gearbox, a propeller, or a combination of electric and mechanical outputs.

VerdeGo Aero CTO Dr. Pat Anderson states: “Many eVTOL aircraft developers are beginning to realize the limitations in range and endurance when relying upon batteries as the primary energy source. In the military context, these limitations combined with the need for established charging infrastructure at every operating location make battery-only designs unsuitable for those missions. Hybrid powerplants, which do not have these limitations, are therefore an attractive solution for the military, and for that matter commercial operators, as well.”

Sterling Alley, program manager and technology transition lead for the USAF’s Agility Prime program, adds: “The Agility Prime program has been exploring and evaluating hybrid propulsion architectures combined with EVTOLs for dual use applications where additional range over what current battery only solutions may offer is of higher importance. The program office is excited to continue those efforts and better understand what capabilities VerdeGo's VH-3 powerplant may offer future systems over the course of this Phase 2 effort.”

The Agility Prime initiative is an unorthodox Air Force acquisition program that invokes the service’s rapid contracting authority to foster and accelerate commercial development of manned or unmanned aircraft employing advanced technologies—such as VerdeGo’s forward-thinking gadgetry.

Over the 14-month course of the VerdeGo-AFRL contract, the 185kW (248-horsepower) VH-3 powerplant will aid in the proving of technologies germane to hybrid propulsion systems with power outputs as high as one-megawatt (1,341-horsepower). Modern military and high-performance commercial missions of extant CTOL and STOL, as well as near-future VTOL aircraft demand the reliable, onboard generation of such levels of propulsive power.

VerdeGo’s VP of Product Development Dave Spitzer opines: “This Direct-to-Phase II effort is exciting because it’s going to accelerate our efforts to bring the VH-3 to market. The VH-3 will be a key enabler for bringing new capabilities to the warfighter, and we’re honored that the Air Force recognizes the potential in VerdeGo’s hybrid technologies.”

Notwithstanding the company’s relative youth, VerdeGo is headed up by a competent leadership team with well-formulated long and short-term designs. The company was founded in 2017 and has since formed promising partnerships with aerospace industry heavyweights the likes of Continental, XTI Aircraft, Jaunt Air Mobility, and Raytheon.

Verdego is among the few aerospace concerns competently designing and executing custom Integrated Distributed Electric Propulsion (IDEP) systems for eVTOL OEMs.

FMI: www.verdegoaero.com