magniX’s All-Electric Engine for Aircraft

MagniX, owned by a Singapore-based conglomerate called Clermont Group, recently moved forward with their plans for a plane powered by a battery-electric motor and will soon be looking forward to their first flight tests in the second half of 2019. 

MagniX’s motor installed into a Cessna-class airplane

The electric motor, called the magni250, can instantly produce a power level of 350 horsepower, comparable to the power put out by a standard Cessna 350. The magni250 also can run at a much more efficient 1900 rpm, just at 70% of the Cessna 350, to increase the efficiency of the engine and prolonging its battery life to a range about 100 miles. magniX is working on increasing this range to at least 1000 miles in the next few years. magniX also has a more powerful model of the magni250 called the magni500, capable of putting out 750 hp.

MagniX’s motor will be able to enable a loaded Caravan to fly up to 105 miles, long enough for many delivery routes in the US.

The company intends to start with fixed-wing aircraft and then move to eVTOLs and urban air mobility, as well as other facets of aviation. Factoring in short rides requirements, zero emissions, and drop in flight costs, the magniX electric motor design could easily be applied by companies like Airbus or BLADE, which gives further incentive for urban communities to back such plans for the future. 

“We’re not talking about a 737 or a private jet,” says magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski

An eVTOL similar to the eHANG 184 that could potentially be powered by magniX technology.

Magni-X is dedicated to building electric technology for societal improvement. Said Ganzarski: “This is about building a generational business that will have a positive impact on society. We want to be able to tell our grandkids that they’re all flying on clean, low-cost aircraft because of what we did in 2018 and 2019.”

MagniX had previously moved from Australia all the way to Redmond, Washington, attracted by the engineering talent and aerospace ecosystem in the Seattle area.

Ganzarski likens magniX’s entry into the aerospace industry to Elon Musk’s Tesla’s disruption of the automotive industry. “No one said it could be done.‘There’s not enough batteries, you won’t get the range, it’s not as good as a traditional car.’ And [Musk] had the vision to say, ‘No, we’ll make it happen, and that will start the ripple effects.’ Lo and behold, it did.” Ganzarki intends for magniX to cause similar ripple effects for the aerospace industry. The magni250 and magni500 could be the path to low-cost, zero-emission flights, taking advantage of thousands of smaller regional airports and potentially a 70-80% reduction in flight costs. The magni series could also be a perfect fit for the budding urban air mobility market, where the amount of emissions and fuel costs are a huge concern for cities today.

Why it’s important: magniX’s all-electric motor for aircraft has the same potential advancements for the aerospace industry that Tesla had for the automotive industry. A successful spread into the mass market could lead to drastic reductions in flight costs and countless future opportunities in not only the aerospace industry but countless others in the transportation industry, such as the potential newly budding urban air mobility market.

Sources // GeekWire, magniX, apex.aero, Forbes