Bell Helicopter has taken another step forward in its plans for new on-demand air transport systems.
The Fort Worth-based company announced June 19 at the Future of Transportation World Conference that it will collaborate with Paris-based Safran on the development of hybrid electric power system solutions to support Bell’s vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft concept. The conference is being held in Cologne, Germany.
“Bell is at the forefront of on-demand mobility – ushering a new era of flight where the benefits of aviation are accessible to more people in more places,” said Scott Drennan, Bell’s director of Innovation, while speaking at the Transportation Conference. “This announcement is another proof point of our commitment to providing transportation of people and logistics in new, innovative and more efficient ways; our work with Safran is a historical milestone for future transport solutions.”
Safran Electronics & Defense is a world leader in optronics, avionics, electronics and critical software for both civil and defense applications. The company’s products are deployed worldwide on more than 1000 ships, 25,000 land vehicles and 10,000 aircraft.
For several years, Safran innovation teams have been actively exploring the potential of hybrid solutions for future propulsion systems. Bell and Safran’s plan is to develop electric and hybrid electric aircraft with the potential to be deployed in Bell Air Taxis and new on-demand mobility systems in the future.
“Thanks to the long and sustained technology-development strategy conducted within the Safran group, we can now offer Bell our hybrid electric power solutions for their next generation products that result in improved performance giving more value to our customers,” said Stéphane Cueille, Safran senior executive vice president, R&T and Innovation.
In this collaboration, Bell will lead the design, development and production of VTOL systems, and Safran will bring its technical expertise to bear in the development of a disruptive propulsion system. Bell is also collaborating with ride-hailing provider Uber to develop plans for air taxis.
Bell is a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company based in Fort Worth.