Dr Hongye Zhang at the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, is leading a new €5 million international research project to develop advanced superconducting motor technology for next-generation hydrogen-electric aircraft. The HYPERWIN project has been selected for funding under the European Union’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking’s Fast Track Area (FTA) initiative. The consortium brings together seven academic and industrial partners from the UK, France, Italy and Spain to address one of the major engineering challenges facing electric aviation: reducing the weight and improving the efficiency of aircraft propulsion systems. HYPERWIN will develop high temperature superconducting motor AC windings, targeting TRL5. Integrated with cryogenic cooling, the technology is designed to minimise power losses and enable the development of highly power-dense, ultra-efficient superconducting motors for hydrogen-electric aircraft. By helping to reduce motor weight while increasing power-to-weight ratios, the project aims to support the development of larger, longer-range zero-emission aircraft and help move hydrogen-electric passenger aviation closer to commercial deployment. The HYPERWIN consortium comprises: The University of Edinburgh, UK – consortium lead SUPRASYS, Spain HPDRIVE Technologies, UK Université de Lorraine, France The University of Nottingham, UK Politecnico di Milano, Italy SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS EUROPE, Spain This project is a critical element of Clean Aviation’s broader €290 million EU funding round, which mobilises a €664 million total public and private research effort across 19 pioneering aviation projects. Clean Aviation’s Call 4 places a massive emphasis on collaborative networks, with universities, research organisations (RTOs), and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) accounting for 42% of the total allocated funding. Dr Hongye Zhang, Consortium Lead for HYPERWIN, said: We are thrilled that HYPERWIN has been selected to receive this €5 million Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking grant, co-funded by the European Union. This funding will enable us to bring together complementary expertise and resources from 7 different EU/UK partners to accelerate the development of superconducting propulsion motors for hydrogen-electric aircraft. Ultimately, we aim to deliver technology at Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL 5) for superconducting motor AC windings, helping to advance cleaner aviation and strengthen innovation across the aerospace industry. This support marks a major step forward for HYPERWIN and reflects the strength of the partnership behind the project. For the University of Edinburgh, the project represents an important opportunity to translate our expertise in superconducting technologies into practical solutions for the future of sustainable flight, while strengthening our collaborations with leading academic and industrial partners.About Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking The Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking is the European Union’s leading research and innovation programme for transforming aviation towards a sustainable and climate-neutral future. It is a successful European public-private partnership between the European Commission through Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme, and the European aeronautics industry. It has a budget of €4.1 billion divided into €1.7 billion in EU funding and no less than €2.4 billion in private funding. The programme’s disruptive clean aviation technologies will help reduce the emission footprint of short-medium range and regional aircraft by no less than 30% compared to 2020 state-of-the-art aircraft. Clean Aviation builds on the knowledge and expertise of the Clean Sky programmes (2008-2024). Related links HYPERWIN – Superconducting motor windings for zero-emission aircraft propulsion Publication date 03 Nov, 2026
