AgustaWestland Project Zero

AgustaWestland

Industry	Aerospace
Headquarters	Cascina Costa , Italy
Key people	James Wang (project leader)
Products	Project Zero (electric tiltrotor demonstrator)

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The AgustaWestland Project Zero represents a pioneering hybrid of tiltrotor and Lift fan technologies. Developed by AgustaWestland as a platform to showcase cutting-edge innovations, it serves as a testbed for all-electric propulsion systems alongside other advanced aeronautical technologies. It holds the distinction of being the first electric tiltrotor aircraft globally.

Origins

In December 2010, AgustaWestland's leadership sanctioned the establishment of a dedicated team led by James Wang with the goal of creating a technology demonstrator that would integrate numerous novel advancements within a single airframe. By 2013, Wang highlighted the rapid progress in electric technologies and explained that Project Zero aimed to prepare for electric aviation readiness: "Instead of waiting for battery improvements before advancing electric aircraft technology, the team positioned itself to be ready for the next battery generation."

At AgustaWestland and its collaborating partners, approximately twenty-four engineers were assigned full-time to this skunkworks-style initiative at the Cascina Costa facility in Italy. According to Wang, team members were carefully selected, usually young and highly motivated specialists each focused on a particular technical area. The team opted for an unconventional design rather than an electric-powered conventional airplane or helicopter: a twin-rotor electric tiltrotor without any mechanical transmission or swashplates. Wang described their approach as tackling "anything that seems borderline impossible."

Given that the development cycle for the AgustaWestland AW169 had been under four years, management set an ambitious target for Project Zero to reach initial flight testing within just one year. During the first six months, the team operated nearly nonstop around the clock. To maintain efficiency and confidentiality, direct face-to-face communication was favoured over emails or voicemails, facilitated by co-location within the same office space. AgustaWestland's Advanced Concepts Group conducted extensive model testing using multiple 1/10th-scale flight-capable prototypes to explore the aircraft’s unusual flight envelope extremes. The rapid timeline was also supported by intensive use of computer aided design (CAD) tools, including computational fluid dynamics and Finite element method#Finite element modeling simulations.

The design and manufacture of Project Zero components involved collaboration among companies across Italy, the UK, the U.S., and Japan, including four divisions of Leonardo-Finmeccanica. For example, Ansaldo Breda engineered a bespoke electric motor inverter and its control algorithm, while Selex ES supplied the flight control system's High-Integrity Flight Control Computer and Actuator Control Unit. Lucchi R.Elettromeccanica developed custom axial flux permanent magnet motors; Rotor Systems Research LLC partnered with AgustaWestland on rotor blade aerodynamics. Lola Composites fabricated most of the external surfaces using Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), with UCHIDA producing composite structures for rotor blades, shrouds, and spokes. The aesthetic and aerodynamic styling was crafted by Gruppo Bertone#Stile Bertone, enhancing both form and function.

The name Project Zero was chosen to reflect its status as a unique internal initiative without precedent in AgustaWestland’s history. Remarkably, from initial design to first flight took less than six months. To ensure practical outcomes from this effort, it was decided that a full-scale prototype would be constructed and flown. In June 2011, this demonstrator completed its maiden tethered flight at Cascina Costa in Italy. Wang noted that no redesigns or modifications were necessary: "Everything worked—the entire design—on the first attempt."

Reveal and further development

File:AgustaWestland Project Zero PAS 2013 01.jpg

Project Zero exhibited statically at the 2013 Paris Air Show

The program was officially disclosed to the public on 4 March 2013 during the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Heli-Expo. Subsequently, in June 2013, the aircraft was showcased at the Paris Air Show. Early in 2014, the team behind Project Zero received the distinguished 2014 Grover E. Bell Award from AHS International, an honor recognizing significant contributions to helicopter research and innovation, named after Larry Bell’s late brother.

After completing the flight test phase, AgustaWestland focused on analyzing insights gained from Project Zero to explore how its innovations could be integrated into their existing rotorcraft portfolio. The company has highlighted that Project Zero serves as a technological investment rather than a market-ready product. By 2016, it was reported that the active blade control system developed for Project Zero—which eliminates the need for both a traditional swash plate and a separate vibration mitigation mechanism—was slated for flight trials on an AgustaWestland AW139 platform. Additionally, the flight control algorithms devised for Project Zero are intended to support a forthcoming tiltrotor project by AgustaWestland.

The Advanced Concepts Group has proposed several alternative propulsion configurations for Project Zero, such as hybrid diesel systems, integration of fuel cell technology, and other unspecified innovations. Initially, the aircraft’s operational endurance is limited to ten minutes; however, in 2016 Wang expressed optimism that advancements in battery technology within the next decade could extend flight duration to approximately 100 minutes.

Design

Project Zero is a nontraditional electric-powered convertiplane featuring a tiltrotor layout. Serving as a sophisticated demonstrator, it aims to investigate and highlight the potential of electric propulsion in aviation. Its power source consists of rechargeable batteries. According to AgustaWestland, when equipped with an appropriate powerplant, the aircraft could achieve speeds comparable to conventional tiltrotors and maintain cruising altitudes roughly twice those of standard helicopters. This demonstrator was not engineered with production optimization in mind. It offers versatility in operation, capable of being piloted solo or flown remotely as an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Central to Project Zero is its pioneering propulsion system designed for demonstration and evaluation purposes. The aircraft’s two sizable rotors are powered by sophisticated electric motors energized through onboard batteries. This fully electric architecture removes the necessity for a conventional transmission, which is typical in traditional aircraft. It also features reduced noise and heat emissions and operates independently of atmospheric oxygen. On the ground, batteries can be recharged by positioning the rotors to capture wind energy functioning as turbines. The demonstrator was built to support multiple energy sources for its electric motors; one alternative hybrid configuration employs a lightweight diesel engine coupled with a generator developed by ORAL Engineering to supply electrical power. During cruise phases, lift is predominantly generated by the wings; notably, the outer wing sections are removable, which may benefit shorter missions primarily utilizing helicopter-mode flight.

File:Agusta project zero sketch.jpg

Illustration of Project Zero

More than 80 percent of the aircraft’s structure comprises composite materials—including all skin surfaces, rotor blades, shrouds, and spokes—with an overall construction mainly consisting of aluminium and carbon fiber. Material choices were driven by objectives of maximizing speed while balancing weight and cost efficiency. The manufacturer states that this aircraft "employs no hydraulics, doesn't burn fossil fuel and generates zero emissions." Instead of hydraulic systems, electromechanical actuators—developed specifically by Microtecnica—manage functions such as landing gear retraction, nacelle tilting, and elevon control.

Several essential technologies from Project Zero have been secured through patents. A European Patent (EP2551190 (A1)) was filed on 29 July 2011 and granted on 30 January 2013, while corresponding patents listing James Wang as inventor were also issued in the United States (US2013026303 (A1)), as well as filings in Korea (KR20130014450 (A)), Japan (JP2013032147 (A)), and China (CN102897317 (A)).

Operational history

The unmanned demonstrator achieved its initial tethered flight in June 2011 at AgustaWestland's Cascina Costa site in Italy. Throughout 2011 and 2012, it underwent multiple flights within controlled environments, both with and without the ducted shrouds enclosing its tilting rotors. Additionally, an upgraded set of rotor blades featuring a non-linear twist and bespoke airfoil designs was introduced. These flight trials facilitated optimization of the propulsion system, leading to a 30 percent improvement in power efficiency.

Since its public unveiling in March 2013, Project Zero has been showcased on several occasions. Ongoing flight evaluations have primarily utilized one-third scale models rather than the full-size demonstrator, due to the latter’s limited endurance capabilities. In February 2016, plans were announced to equip the full-scale aircraft with a hybrid propulsion system, intended to increase flight duration from approximately 10 minutes to between 35 and 45 minutes.

See also

Bibliography

• "Project Zero: The exclusive story of AgustaWestland's 'all-electric technology incubator.'"Template:Fix/category Vertiflite Vol 59 No. 3, May/June 2013
• Broadbent, Mark. "Project Zero" Air International January 2014, page 108.

External links

• Project Zero at Leonardocompany.com