Flying green: ion propulsion in the atmosphere
Experimental ion thruster on test bench
Create a prototype of an efficient aircraft capable of flying with ion propulsion. This is the aim of the IPROP project, led by Politecnico di Milano, funded by the EU with an EIC pathfinder worth €3 million and lasting four years.
The IPROP project, coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, was launched one year ago with the aim of introducing ion propulsion to the aeronautical scene. Its applications have so far been limited to the generation of small thrusts in the space propulsion sector.
Hence, research in this field is currently at a pioneering stage. Indeed, only two mini-prototypes in the world have flown successfully in the atmosphere with this type of plasma propulsion. The project is ambitious, and relies on the potential of this innovative technology.
Right now, the IPROP project addresses studies and tests on innovative thrusters, starting with the creation of special electrodes to generate and accelerate ions inside engines, increasing the ionic wind produced and the thrust generated. The next step will be to simulate the behaviour of thrusters at high altitude, both in the lab and with numerical models.
Marco Belan, Professor of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology and project coordinator
The project then aims at constructing and running test flights of a demonstrator aircraft, specifically an airship equipped with plasma thrusters.
The IPROP project will subsequently lead to the conceptual design of ion propulsion platforms in the stratosphere capable of performing many of the functions of satellites at a much lower cost, including telecommunications for broadcasting, telephony and the Internet; navigation support; high atmosphere weather; remote sensing for agriculture, geology, climatology, urban planning, archaeology; rapid civil protection interventions in emergency scenarios through surveillance of vast areas, the restoration of telecommunications following natural disasters, and hydrogeological monitoring.
The main advantage is that it is an easily recoverable system unlike satellites, featuring very long operating times, very low pollution also thanks to the all-electric solar cell power supply and minimum maintenance due to the absence of moving mechanical parts in the thrusters. This would make the aircraft both environmentally and economically sustainable.
The IPROP project is coordinated by the Politecnico with the contribution of 7 institutes from 4 different countries: UniBo, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna; KIT, Karlsruher Institut Für Technologie, Germany; VKI, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium; ISAE Supaero, Institut Superieur de l’Aeronautique et de l’Espace, Toulouse, France; CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris/Toulouse, France; TUD, Technishe Universität Dresden, Germany; Aeronord sas, Milan.