Electric Taxiing System. Kinetic Energy Recovery System as an Electric Taxiing Solution: Economic and environmental analysis: Phenom 300 case study

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The aviation industry has thrived in recent years, with a significant increase in passenger numbers, leading to the development of larger aircraft fleets and the expansion of airport infrastructure. In 2019, more than 4.5 billion passengers traveled by airplane, which represents an 80% increase compared to 2009. As a consequence, this growth has also resulted in longer taxiing times for aircraft, increasing fuel consumption and operational costs. The industry's CO2 emissions have quadrupled since the 1960s, with over 1 billion tons released in 2019, contributing to global warming. Given that the improvements being made to current propulsion systems and the production of over 600 million liters of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) in 2023 do not seem sufficient to meet the ambitious goals set by regulators and operators, the logical solution would be to develop a system capable of moving the aircraft on the ground using alternative, cleaner, and cheaper energies, such as electric power. This paper explores the latest advancements in electric propulsion systems, specifically focusing on external and onboard systems. After the state of the art is established, this paper will cover a case study and propose a new alternative for an onboard system called ETS – Electric Taxiing System. The ETS is a 100% electric system for ground handling operations designed to use only the kinetic energy stored in a battery pack, which is recovered during aircraft landing and braking events. Although there are some studies on this topic, the author considers this paper to be more comprehensive as the results computed here take into account 96 variables, 60 simulations, several flight plans, and real-world data. The case study focuses on the implementation and dimensioning of the ETS, considering electric motor power and torque, and battery capacity for the Embraer Phenom 300. A brief economic and environmental analysis was also conducted, considering the operation of NetJets Europe, the world's leading and largest private jet company.