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Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Propulsion Technologies for Regional Aviation Within the HERA Project

Felicia Molinaro, Marco Fioriti
April 17, 2026
Published Date

Research Abstract & Technology Focus

Hybrid-electric propulsion and alternative energy carriers are being considered to mitigate the climate impact of short-range regional aviation. Within this framework, the HERA (Hybrid Electric Regional Architecture) project investigates advanced propulsion architectures for a next-generation 72 passenger regional platform. This work presents a cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment of two HERA reference configurations and compares them with a conventional 70 passenger turboprop representative of current service aircraft. The analysis focuses on lithium–sulphur batteries, proton exchange membrane fuel cells, liquid hydrogen storage tanks, and electric motors. The assessment is implemented through a parametric LCA tool supported by a detailed Life Cycle Inventory based on Ecoinvent v3.8 and evaluated using ReCiPe 2016 midpoint indicators. The system boundary includes raw material extraction, manufacturing and assembly, operation under defined mission profiles, maintenance with component replacement, and End-of-Life (EoL) treatment. Results show that the operational phase remains the main driver of climate change impacts, exceeding 95% of total CO2 equivalent emissions across configurations. The battery-based hybrid reduces fuel consumption but increases manufacturing and maintenance burdens. The fuel cell configuration shows a more balanced life cycle profile, with platinum identified as a critical hotspot.
Engineering Propulsion Fuel efficiency Aviation Work (physics) Systems engineering
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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What is the core focus of the research titled 'Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Propulsion Technologies for Regional Aviation Within the HERA Project'?

This literature focuses on: Hybrid-electric propulsion and alternative energy carriers are being considered to mitigate the climate impact of short-range regional aviation. Within this framework, the HERA (Hybrid Electric Regional Architecture) project investigates advanced ...

Are there open-source GitHub repositories related to Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Propulsion Technologies for Regional Aviation Within the HERA Project?

Yes, open-source projects like gsd-build/gsd-2 (A powerful meta-prompting, context engineering and spec-driven development system that enables agents to work for long periods of time autonomously...) are actively building upon these concepts.

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What other academic literature is closely related to 'Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Propulsion Technologies for Regional Aviation Within the HERA Project'?

Yes, highly correlated activity was mapped. An entry titled 'Noise Exposure Analysis of the New Hybrid Electric Aircraft Design within the Airport and Fleet Scenario' discusses this: Hybrid renewable integration, electrification, hydrogenation and their optimization in aircraft design are necessary challenges nowadays for the tr...

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