Lithoz is developing and additively manufacturing a ceramic heat exchanger for hydrogen-electric propulsion systems as part of the TRIATHLON project consortium.
Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action (RIA) programme, TRIATHLON is working to unite skills towards the development of disruptive approaches to design more robust, low-maintenance, low-emission, highly responsive hydrogen-electric powertrains for megawatt class aircraft.
Lithoz is printing the heat exchanger in aluminium nitride (AIN), believing that these systems manufactured with this material will help to decarbonise aviation, improve system efficiency and sustainability, and reduce maintenance.
Designed by Ergon Research, the heat exchanger is based on thermodynamics-driven control management. It leverages Lithoz‘s LCM (Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing) CeraFab System printers and materials and is said to eliminate the need for energy-intensive cryogenic hydrogen pumps. AIN is considered the perfect material for addressing the thermal management of these high-performance components due to its excellent thermal expansion coefficient and conductivity (211 W/mK). This dramatically increases thermal efficiency and enables compact, lightweight system architecture, which is crucial for electrified aviation.
Dr. Johannes Homa, CEO of Lithoz, said: “This is a breakthrough application of our ceramic 3D printing technology in a completely new field. Aerospace and sustainability are key growth areas for Lithoz, so achieving serial production with aluminium nitride is a significant milestone for these sectors. This material opens up design and application possibilities that no one else can currently realise, making a decisive contribution to a greener future in aviation through ceramic AM.”
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