Conflux Joins Honeywell-led hybrid-powered aircraft R&D consortium

Additively manufactured heat exchanger specialist Conflux Technology has joined the Honeywell-led TheMa4HERA consortium, a project focussing on thermal management for hybrid-electric regional aircraft.

According to a statement from Conflux this week, the clean aviation project TheMa4HERA (Thermal Management for Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft) aims to develop “advanced thermal management systems and architectures for next-generation hybrid-electric regional aircraft, with scaling activities for the short-medium range aircraft.” 

It includes 28 partners across 10 European countries and is run out of Honeywell's international development centre in Brno, Czech Republic.

Conflux described its role as applying its expertise to “accelerate the development of innovative, lightweight additive-manufactured heat exchangers for next-generation aircraft”, and includes contributions to projects “involving both Air Cycle Systems (ACS) and Vapour Cycle Systems (VCS) – specifically an air-to-air heat exchanger for ACS as well as air-to-liquid heat exchangers for VCS evaporator and condenser.”

Ma4HERA is co-funded by the European Union, and was launched in 2023. It addresses the increased complexity of thermal management in hybrid-powered aircraft.

The project’s webpage states that aside from delivering a competitive advantage to its contributors, one of its main benefits “is that it enables aircraft electrification and use of non-drop-in power sources such as fuel cell, hydrogen and batteries.”

According the release from Conflux on Monday, TheMa4HERA project will advance heat exchanger technologies to TRL 5 by 2026 “using digital twins, virtual demos, and ground testing” with a Clean Aviation Phase 2, scheduled to begin in 2027, to focus “on flight testing and further integration of the most promising solutions.”

Conflux was judged one of Australia's 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers in this year's campaign of that name, run by @AuManufacturing.

Picture: credit TheMa4HERA

Further reading

Additive manufacturer Conflux expands to UK

Conflux Technology, AMSL Aero partner on long-range hydrogen EVTOL aircraft development

Conflux Technology secures $11 million in Series B round