Artus Aircraft has developed a hybrid aircraft propulsion system.

As part of the NCBiR project, Artus Aircraft engineers developed the first Polish ultralight hybrid aircraft, the Artus Lighter Hybrid. The project’s goal was to create a plane with a modular hybrid combustion-electric propulsion system that could be reconfigured in any way to enable flight in the following modes:

• Airplane powered solely by an internal combustion engine
• Aircraft with a serial hybrid system
• Aircraft with a parallel hybrid system
• Aircraft with a series-parallel hybrid system
• A fully electric plane

In collaboration with the Silesian Institute of Technology Łukasiewicz (formerly KOMEL), ODIUT Automex, and Breeze Energies, a proprietary gasoline-electric hybrid propulsion system for the Artus Lighter Hybrid aircraft was developed, consisting of a ULPower 260iS gasoline engine and KOMEL LEMoK 300 electric motors with Breeze Energies battery packs, where the gasoline engine is connected to an electric motor that can act as a generator to charge the batteries during flight, and two additional independent fully electric motors.

The developed modular hybrid propulsion system was subjected to a series of ground tests before being placed in the airframe, which took place in May 2024. During the tests, the functional capabilities of the hybrid system and the independent operation of individual modules were proven. The safety procedures related to the operation of the propulsion system were also tested. The tests were successful, which enabled further development of the Artus Lighter Hybrid hybrid aircraft project.