How has Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted the Aircraft Microturbine Engine Market?

We are surrounded by machines and all things get done in just minutes. Technological developments have indeed simplified our lives to a greater extent. The privileges that we enjoy today weren’t available during our great grandfather’s time. Imagine how they must have managed and undergone hardships in those times.

What are Aircraft Microturbine Engines?

Microturbines are used in stationary energy generation sectors such as commercial industries, biomass, thermal, or solar industries. They are a form of combustion turbine that creates both electricity and heat on a small scale. Further, microturbines prove to be advantageous because of their compact size, tiny moving parts, lightweight, low emissions, greater efficiency, and low electricity costs. Also, recovery of wasted heat can be used to attain efficiencies higher than 80 percent. Apart from this, microturbines capture the distribution market due to their low capital costs, small size, automatic electronic control, and low maintenance and operation costs. Besides, microturbines provide clean and efficient solutions to drive air-conditioning and compression markets. Further, according to a report provided by Research Dive, the global aircraft microturbines engine market is predicted to enhance at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2022 to 2029 analyzed timeframe.

In addition, microturbine engines, with the size of a refrigerator can generate an output of 25kW to 500kW. Microturbines engines are exclusively used in aircraft and small jet engines for smooth functioning. They include combustor, compressor, turbine, recuperator, alternator, and generator. Moreover, microturbines are divided into different groups based on the arrangement of components like single or 2 shafts, recuperated, simple cycle, reheat, and inter-cooled. The general classification of microturbines is recuperated and unrecuperated (simple) microturbines.   

Factors Affecting the Aircraft Microturbine Engine Market during the Covid-19 Crisis

Despite facing a setback during intense lockdown conditions in 2020, a rise in technological evolutions is anticipated to enhance the aircraft microturbine engine market during the Covid-19 pandemic. For instance, in September 2020, Sierra Turbines, a California-based manufacturing company, decided to discard additive manufacturing (AM) which has been going on for a long time, and generate 95% or more microturbine parts even after reaching large-scale production. Furthermore, in December 2019, UAV Turbines, another manufacturing company, introduced a hybrid-electric microturbine for UAVs (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles). This product offers quickness of an electric motor and efficiency of a turbine. Also, the usage of electrical UAVs has surged exponentially in recent years in military and commercial operations. However, at the same time, the cost of electric motors, flight control equipment, and batteries has decreased. The electric-powered UAVs have less flight duration due to the output power of the batteries that have low energy density than a liquid gel utilized by turbine engines or pistons, thus paving way for the usage of microturbines for the UAVs.

Apart from this, in May 2019, UAV Turbines also revealed the Monarch RP family of microturbine engines which are considered as robust propulsion systems developed for Group 3 and 4 UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems). This product is reliable, offers high performance, and is a lightweight microturbine engine meant for small aircraft. Furthermore, an upsurge in collaborations and tie-ups with key market players is expected to propel the market further. However, high costs associated with microturbine engines are likely to hinder the market growth in the forthcoming years. Nevertheless, the availability of highly skilled staff for managing the critical workforce and assuring adequate liquidity for key suppliers and venture capital is predicted to aid in boosting the market during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Future Scope of the Market

Factors such as the rise in demand for commercial and private aircraft launch of new products in the market, and research and development projects are estimated to create lucrative opportunities for the aircraft microturbine engine market in the post-Covid-19 period. One can depend on these factors for analyzing prospects of the market in the upcoming years.        

About the Author(s)

Princy A. J

Princy holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. University at Chennai, India. After a successful academic record, she pursued her passion for writing. A thorough professional and enthusiastic writer, she enjoys writing on various categories and advancements in the global industries. She plays an instrumental role in writing about current updates, news, blogs, and trends.