Preliminary Design of a 2.5-MW Superconducting Propulsion Motor for Hydrogen-Powered Aviation

In this paper, we present an early-stage design of a lightweight 2.5 MW electric motor intended for hydrogen-powered aviation. The cryogenic hydrogen onboard may be used to directly cool high-temperature superconductors (HTS) installed in the stator, potentially enabling the extreme power densities and efficiencies required for electric machine-propelled aircraft beyond the commuter segment. The aim of this work is to explore specific design considerations imposed by the superconductors, obtain an initial machine design, and evaluate its performance through finite element analysis (FEA) in COMSOL. A machine with a slotted superconducting stator and Halbach array rotor was designed, achieving an active power density of 14.7 kW/kg, despite a rotational speed of only 3500 rpm. However, due to the high current loading a very high slot leakage flux was observed, and the slotted topology did not shield the superconductors as well from the magnetic flux as initially thought.