GENeUSGRID electrical power-management product

GENeUSGRID is an electrical power-management and distribution system from Safran Electrical and Power for hybrid-electric and fully electric aircraft. It sits between generators, batteries and loads, and it is described by the maker as the controller of the aircraft's electrical chain, supervising the electrical equipment and coordinating high-voltage sources to meet propulsion demand.

The architecture is modular and scalable. A power management unit brings together contactors, solid-state power controllers, current sensors, fuses and pyroswitches to perform the distribution and protection functions. Solid-state power controllers protect the wiring and allow remote switching of loads, and electronic data management monitors the electrical loads and the power-distribution interfaces.

For propulsion applications, the GENeUSGRID PROPULSION version is rated from 100 to 1,000 kW on an 800 to 1,000 V DC network, with an efficiency of 99.5 %. For an integrator, the high voltage keeps conductor current and cable mass low, and the high efficiency limits heat that the airframe has to remove.

The protection function detects arc faults and insulation faults actively. Current sensors based on the Neel effect remove magnetic hysteresis, which keeps the measurement accurate for the fault logic. This matters on high-voltage DC buses where a fault must be isolated quickly.

For integration, the maker supplies the solution in three forms: the complete unit, a subassembly that protects the power line, or individual protection components. A buyer can therefore take the full system or use only the protection hardware inside its own power-distribution unit.

Typical applications are eVTOL and hybrid-electric aircraft, and the maker positions the system next to its electric motors and generators in the same electrical-propulsion range.