Parametric Modeling and Mission Optimization for the Hybrid Electric Turboprop Commercial Freighter (HETCOF) Concept

The Hybrid Electric Turboprop Commercial Freighter (HETCOF) Concept is a large, four-engine turboprop freighter retrofitted with a multi-Megawatt parallel-hybrid electric propulsion system that aims to reduce emissions, noise, and fuel consumption for narrowbody cargo operations. This paper provides a detailed overview of the parametric modeling of HETCOF configurations across varying technology levels and optimization of the power-split profiles and mission trajectories for both the long range 2,400 NM economic mission and 750 NM hybrid-electric design mission. Results demonstrate that the HETCOF concept can achieve 11-13% fuel savings for the maximum range 2,400 NM mission with up to 38% fuel savings for the hybrid-electric 750 NM mission assuming all-electric cruise. Trade-offs in payload capacity are driven by weight of electric power and energy storage systems which can be minimized through coupled motor-propeller optimization and refined engine controls throughout the multi-phase design mission. Preliminary results demonstrate that HETCOF can realize meaningful operational benefits that scale with improved technology levels, where future work will aim to quantify the fleet-level impacts.