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The M80 is slated to enter commercial service in 2031.
Maeve Aerospace has started research and development on an 80-seat hybrid-electric turboprop that is targeted at the regional jet and De Havilland Dash 8-Q400 replacement markets. The aircraft, dubbed the M80, is to make its first flight at the end of 2028 and enter service in 2030-31.
The M80 has an all-new airframe with swept, high wings and newly developed turboprop engines supplemented by battery power during takeoff and climb. Maeve is close to revealing a memorandum of understanding with an undisclosed engine manufacturer, a step expected in the beginning of 2024.
The hybrid engine configuration combined with higher aerodynamic efficiency will lead to about 40% lower fuel burn in cruise than the aircraft it is being designed to replace, Maeve says. Trip costs are to be 25% lower than those of similar-size regional jets and seat-mile costs 20% below those of current turboprops. The M80 is to be certified for use of 100% sustainable aviation fuel from the outset.
Maeve is a Delft, Netherlands-based startup launched in 2021. The company initially pursued plans to develop the Maeve 01, a fully electric, four-engine 40-seat aircraft that was to fly up to a range of 200 nm. That concept has now been dropped, superseded by the two-engine hybrid M80.
“A fully electric aircraft would only have worked with a performance level that would not have met market requirements,” Chief Technology Officer Martin Nuesseler says.
Maeve is only the latest airframer to move away from a fully electric concept. Heart Aerospace is now following a hybrid design for the 30-seat ES-30 after trying to develop a fully electric aircraft.
Nuesseler held senior roles on the Airbus A350 and A400M programs before joining Deutsche Aircraft in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich. Maeve is building its own engineering operation there, where it has access to requisite talent. Other aerospace companies, including Lilium, are based at the site as well. The airport also has been the historic base of Dornier Luftfahrt and later Fairchild Dornier.
Deutsche Aircraft has been working on a modernized and stretched version of the Dornier 328, the 40-seat 328Eco. But Nuesseler remained unconvinced and joined Maeve.
“The market under 50 seats is going to disappear,” he says. “Because of cost pressures, a new aircraft has to have at least 80 seats. We need a new benchmark in payload efficiency. The most important thing is to use less energy.”
The M80 concept is that of an efficient high-speed turboprop that can fly at altitudes of up to 35,000 ft. and specifically avoids competition with the ATR 72. “Our aircraft is more efficient than the ATR, but the ATR has an unbeatable cost structure in its niche,” Nuesseler says, referring to the typically short routes on which the aircraft operates.
The Maeve aircraft is targeted to cruise at 400 kt. at 35,000 ft. altitude with an operational range of 800 nm. The ATR 72 has a range of 740 nm.
According to Nuesseler, Maeve can reduce the size of the engine because additional battery power is being used for takeoff and climb. The engine will not lose efficiency at altitude because of an additional thermal process to densify the air ahead of the compressor.
The cabin is arranged in a four-abreast configuration and can seat up to 84 passengers in a single class and 76 in a dual-class layout. The 10 battery packs are placed in the cargo hold and attached to the passenger floor. The oval-shape fuselage was designed to allow for sufficient cargo space below the passenger deck and enough clearance for the batteries, which will be separated from the aircraft’s main structure for safety reasons.
- The startup has dropped all-electric 40-seater
- Proposed M80 is to feature hybrid-electric propulsion
Operationally, Maeve is pursuing two options: Batteries could be recharged on the ground by trucks battery-to-battery or during descent. “I believe we will be charging on the ground,” Nuesseler says, but that decision will hinge on feedback from airlines. Batteries will have to be replaced after around 1,800 cycles or on an annual basis.
Maeve’s road map includes finalizing the preliminary agreement with its engine supplier, a core element of the aircraft’s concept.
“The engine partner has a strong interest in promoting our product because it demonstrates the engine’s capabilities,” Nuesseler says. A testbed using a prototype of the powerplant is to fly next year.
Next Maeve will be seeking an industrial lead investor. The company has received funding from private investors, the Dutch government and European Investment Council. Maeve aims to reach the preliminary design review for the M80 by 2026.
Nuesseler says he has built in more time than usual to ensure the product is mature at that stage.
Industrialization is to follow after 2026. Maeve is still far from selecting a site, but Nuesseler says Oberpfaffenhofen is a possibility. The M80 final assembly line would be the second, joining the Lilium Jet.
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