magniX today announced a milestone in completing testing of its magni650 electric propulsion unit (EPU) at NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) in Sandusky, Ohio.
The magni650 performed simulated flight tests at an altitude of 30,000 feet at a maximum continuous power of 700 kilowatts (kw) – “an unprecedented achievement for an electric engine,” said the company in a press release. “The breakthrough performance of magniX’s EPU under simulated flight conditions at altitude demonstrates its readiness for the flight test phase of NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project and moves it closer to the world’s first electric engine certification.
“In the next stage of EPFD, one of the four turbine engines on magniX’s De Havilland Dash 7 test aircraft will be replaced with a magni650 electric powertrain, with test flights planned for 2026. The final stage of the program will see a second turbine engine substituted with another magniX powertrain. This configuration is expected to reduce fuel consumption by up to 40% on a typical flight. Through the data collected, this will bring the electrification of large-scale commercial aircraft closer to entry-into-service by the end of the decade.”
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