After Only Four Years
It’s hard to believe that H3X is only four years old, has only 18 employees (so far) and is already creating multi-megawatt motors.
A little over a decade ago, by contrast, a 50 kilowatt aircraft motor was about the largest available, with 100 kilowatts a high-end luxury. By 2011, the Pipistrel G4 showed up at the Green Flight Challenge with 145 kilowatts (195 horsepower), the record at the time. It was much heavier than any equivalent motor today.
H3X Co-Founders Max Liben (CTO), Jason Sylvestre (CEO), Eric Maciolek (President). Sysvestre holds the HPDM-250, 200 kW in an 18.7 kilogram (41.14 pound) package. H3X
Until recently, most air-cooled internal combustion aircraft engines carried about two pounds of weight for each horsepower they could generate. Current electric motors have turned that formula on its head, and H3X is even more disruptive, claiming 12 kilowatts (16 horsepower) per kilogram, or about 7.27 pounds per horsepower.
Five row HPDM-250 motor enables multiplying power by stacking individual units. Note multiple electrical leads on each segment of each motor, ensuring high level of redundancy. H3X
Sweetening that, most motor makers count their three to four kilowatts per kilogram output at peak power. The firm calculates their performance at continuous power. Further enhancing their claims, their motors include the weight of the inverter and propeller speed reduction gearbox, often separate components in other manufacturer’s calculations.
This comports with ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) considerations for future long-range large electric aircraft, which the agency says will need 12 kilowatts per kilogram for viability. If battery weight, or hydrogen capacity can follow H3X’s lead, large green aircraft will become competitive with their polluting competition.
One they can’t hold in their hands, theHPDM-3000 motor could be flying on commercial airliners in the near future. Large unit shares redundancy, fail-safe features of smaller cousins. H3X
Jason Sylvestre, Co-Founder and CEO of H3X. explains the team’s mission. “We’re on an ambitious journey to become the world’s leading supplier of advanced electric motors,” said J “With remarkable speed, we’ve proven that this technology works and has a key role to play in enabling sustainable aviation, decarbonizing the marine and industrial sectors, and unlocking next-generation electrified defense technology. This funding round will enable us to scale up production and operations and deliver on some very large contracts in our pipeline.”
Acceptance by NASA, ARPA, the Military, and Private Developers
H3X announced a successful outcome to Series A funding, with backing by several venture capital groups. The funding round was led by Infinite Capital, with participation from Hanwha Asset Management, Cubit Capital, Origin Ventures, Industrious Ventures, Venn10 Capital, and follow-on investors that include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Metaplanet, Liquid 2 Ventures, and TechNexus.
At the end of 1923, H3X enumerated its accomplishments for the year, including these noteworthy achievements:
- Closed out our NASA contract ahead of schedule, won another one.
- Completed all technical deliverables for our AFWERX Ph[ase] II contract.
- Ground tested the HPDM-250 with our partner, Stralis Aircraft (YC W23), in their aircraft and successfully completed mission profiles ahead of our first flight next year.
- Doubled the size of our team.
The Stralis project involves an Australian team and their plans to electrify regional and medium-haul airliners. More on that soon.