Bell Air Taxi prototype - Bell aircraft with takeoff and vertical landing
Bell and Safran are collaborating on the development of hybrid electric propulsion systems for future air taxis and vertical take-off and landing systems.
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT) announced at the International Conference "Viitorul Transport" a new partnership with Safran (Euronext Paris: SAF) on the development of innovative hybrid electric propulsion systems to support the concept of Bell aircraft with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) - Vertical Take-Off and Landing).
"Bell is at the forefront of on-demand mobility - opening the paradigm to a new era of flight, in which the benefits of aviation are accessible to more people, in more places," said Scott Drennan, Director of Innovation at the conference. Bell.
“This announcement is another way to demonstrate our commitment to providing passenger and logistics in new, innovative and more efficient ways; our work with Safran is a historical reference point for future transport solutions ”.
Bell Air Taxi prototype
In recent years, Safran innovation teams have been actively exploring the potential of hybrid solutions for future propulsion systems. The common vision of Bell and Safran for electric and hybrid aircraft is to commit to the successful implementation of Bell Air Taxi systems and future on-demand mobility systems.
"Thanks to a long-term technology development strategy developed by the Safran Group, we can now offer Bell hybrid power solutions for their next-generation products, resulting in improved performance, adding more value to our customers." , said Stéphane Cueille, Safran's first executive vice president for research, technology and innovation.
In this collaboration, Bell will lead the activity of design, development and production of VTOL systems, and Safran will bring its technical expertise in the development of an innovative propulsion system.