ALBACOPTER®: eVTOL autonomous freight transport drone

Fraunhofer is making an important contribution to achieving emission-neutral Urban Air Mobility (UAM) with their development of eVTOL drones for autonomous freight transport.

Fraunhofer LBF is one of the six Fraunhofer institutes involved. The core tasks at the institute are battery development, aerody-namic design and the construction of the aircraft. In developing a method for design-ing the structure, the researchers are taking a mission-oriented approach, accounting for requirements in terms of aerodynamics and strength, among other things, during different phases of the flight and for an array of overarching conditions associat-ed with the design and manufacturing processes. The fuselage is designed and constructed to integrate with and adapt to various system components — this includes the battery and emergency rescue systems, electronics, junction boxes, sensor systems in the fuselage and wingtips, and the connection of the engines to the wings via motor support arms. 

Fraunhofer LBF is leading a subproject on materials and aerodynamic structures, combining its own design methods with the manufacturing technologies produced by Fraunhofer ICT. The results of this subject include the creation of a skeletal hull structure made of pultruded tubular profiles and sustainable, scalable and easily recyclable transport boxes.

As part of a subproject on engines, Fraunhofer LBF is developing an energy storage system, thereby contributing significantly to the goal of making the Albacopter fully electric.

With this development, the consortium led by the Fraunhofer IVI aims to make a major contribution to an environmentally friendly, flexible and safe future transporta-tion culture.