The HERFUSE project, which stands for Hybrid Electric Regional Fuselage & Empennages, is a new, pioneering 3-year Clean Aviation research project focused on revolutionizing regional aircraft propulsion systems. HERFUSE aims to design innovative fuselages and empennages for future Hybrid-Electric Regional aircraft (HER) to reduce Green House Gases (GHG) emissions. It addresses layout, materials, components, manufacturing, and assembly challenges, integrating features for hybrid-electric propulsion and complementary systems to improve weight, durability, aerodynamics, and operations.
The HERFUSE Project is advancing the future of hybrid-electric regional aviation, combining batteries, fuel cells, and hydrogen storage in an innovative Ultra-Compact Battery (UCB) aircraft configuration. Led by Airbus Defence and Space, the project showcases how diversity and inclusion drive excellence, with teams of women and men engineers collaborating across labs, meetings, and project milestones.
Through the HERFUSE Hack series, the consortium iteratively develops and validates new concepts, from fuselage integration and cockpit conceptual design to structural innovations like the upper shell using thermoplastic welding. These efforts reduce weight, improve efficiency, and enable safe integration of hybrid-electric propulsion systems while supporting sustainable aircraft design.
Key milestones include completing the UCB fuselage and empennage conceptual designs, successfully passing the Preliminary Design Review at Airbus Helicopters Spain, and demonstrating innovative manufacturing techniques in international events such as Aerospace & Defense Meetings Torino. Partners like Aitiip Centro Tecnológico, Mecanizados Vitoria, FIDAMC, and FADACATEC contributed to these achievements, highlighting strong cross-industry collaboration.
HERFUSE has also actively shared its progress through outreach activities, including interviews with Mecanizados Vitoria, emphasizing local talent, diversity, and sustainable aerospace innovation. With major conceptual milestones achieved, the project is now entering a decisive phase of data-driven design, rigorous testing, and scalable production, paving the way for cleaner, hybrid-electric regional aviation.
The project is supported by the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking and its members.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. Neither the European Union nor Clean Aviation JU can be held responsible for them.