Eric Bartsch VerdeGo Aero

1. Eric Bartsch – CEO & Co-founder VerdeGo Aero
Electric Aircraft 2023 – May 11, 2023
Hybridization – The Missing Link Between
Electrification and Sustainable Fuels

2. VerdeGo and My History with Electrification of Flight

3. Electrification of Aircraft
Jet engines changed the design space for aircraft in the 1940s/50s/60s
Electric motors are changing the design space again
• Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP)
• Merging of Attitude Control and Propulsion
• Active Aerodynamics / boundary layer control
• Unequal # of Power Generation and Thrust Units
• Unique Torque/RPM Curves for Electric Motors
• Fault Tolerant Design (an offshoot of DEP)
• Dissimilar Propulsion Units (power, RPM,
configuration)
• Optimizing for Peaks and Valleys of Power

4. Electrification of Aircraft vs. Cars
Batteries
are the BIG IDEA
Electric Motors
are the BIG IDEA
Batteries are a
big risk

5. SAF / eFuels
SAF / eFuels are an inevitability
• Manufactured fuel with reduced net carbon emissions
• Technology exists now – 6 manufacturing paths
• Already certified and proven in commercial flights
• Current commercial aircraft fleet worth more than $250
billion dollars is depending on SAF
• Global infrastructure already in place to handle liquid
aviation fuels
• Supply chain/cost/scalability are the current challenges

6. SAF / eFuels vs. Batteries as a Primary Energy Source
Which one will scale up faster and make the bigger impact?
Which set of challenges do we choose to solve?
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Gets lighter as its used
Can trade energy for payload
Last drop is as good as the first
Charging infrastructure exists
Up to 20X lighter
Technology is certified
Significant reduction inCO2 emissions
Can be 100% carbon neutral
SupplyChain exists at scale
Cost
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7. 7
Tradeoffs involved in hybrid applications
Energy Conversion Weight & Size/Volume Fuel & Emissions
New Design Space Sustainable Fuels
If we want to leverage these design
options, then hybrids + SAF offers a
more practical way to get the benefits
earlier
If we are not leveraging the unique
design options from electrification,
then SAF alone may be more
practical

8. 8
Hybrids + SAF
Inefficiencies vs
conventional Selecting optimal
engine for
hybridization
SAF CO2
Reduction
Efficiencies of new
aircraft platform
Good applications of hybridization offer substantial emissions
reductions while also enabling new types of aircraft, new
mission capabilities, and compliance with safety & flight
planning requirements
*Note: The actual reduction varies depending on
the application. Good applications of hybridization
can be very positive, bad implementations can
create a net negative.
~-17%
~+30%
~+30%
50% now
80% in testing
100% research
72% now
89% in testing
100% research
~+43%
reduction*
Potential Net
Reduction*
(conceptual example, actual
results depend on application)

9. Liquid fuels are good
for STORING ENERGY
Batteries are good at
delivering POWER
Energy capacity is
significantly limited
Power is limited by the
size of the hybrid
Hybrids use both liquid fuels and batteries for their strengths

10. 10
What will happen faster?
• 20X battery improvement + addressing the numerous other battery-related
challenges
• Scaling up SAF & getting the pricing down
How does ”packaging energy” differ in aviation vs automotive?
• Weight?
• Performance? Consistency?
What is the most important aspect of aerospace electrification
• Motors or batteries
How is a half trillion dollars of aircraft and global liquid fuel infrastructure
going to influence what technology trends scale up faster and have a bigger
impact?
AreSAF and Electrification competing approaches or are they complimentary technologies
ClosingThoughts

11. Why Electrify?
Electric Motors are the BIG IDEA in electrification
Batteries work for some applications but are challenging in many
How do we leverage the benefits of motors efficiently and quickly?
• Responsive
• Lightweight
• Unique torque curve
• Scale up in size differently
• Reliable
• Simple
• Low cost
• We have high performance
solutions now
• Heavy
• Last energy out isn’t as good as the first
• “Fuel tank” shrinks over time
• Slow to refuel
• We don’t have high performance solutions now
Hybrids
+ SAF

12. Why Hybridize?
IF an aircraft design must inherently be electrified
(usually due to leveraging motors)
AND mission requirements demand high
performance (true in many cases)
THEN motors + hybrids + sustainable fuels
allow the benefits to be realized
Images from FlyFlapper
+ +

13. Why VerdeGo?
VerdeGo’s team has been building aerospace
hybrid power systems since 2011
We offer solutions from 150kW to more than
1MW
VerdeGo has already delivered development
and flight test powerplants to customers
developing high-performance electric
aircraft

14. High-performance hybrids - Industry-leading experience - Real-world
solutions
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