H3X Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of electric motors for aircraft, on Tuesday said it has received an investment from Lockheed Martin
’s [LMT] venture arm to help it accelerate development and commercialization of its integrated motors.
The value of the investment wasn’t disclosed. H3X has 17 employees.
H3X is developing a series of electric motors ranging from 30 kW to 3MW that the company says are “unparalleled in performance in terms of specific power and efficiency.” The Denver-based company also says it has made advancements in electromagnetics, material science, power electronics, additive manufacturing, motor control and thermals to enable its motors to reach continuous specific powers greater than 10kW per kilogram.
“H3X is working on scaling transformative technologies that we believe have the potential to provide our customer with viable options for electrifying legacy, all-domain systems and components,” Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, said in a statement. “Our investment in H3X reinforces Lockheed Martin’s commitment to developing predictive capabilities and scaling solutions that allow the U.S. and its allies to stay ahead of threats.”
The long-term focus of the company is “enabling fully-electric and hybrid-electric commercial aircraft,” Jason Sylvestre, co-founder and CEO of H3X, told Defense Daily in an email response to questions.
He said X3X has several customers working on defense applications that range from electric propulsion for unmanned aerial vehicles to avionics power generation for hypersonic aircraft.
“Our products are 3X more power dense than anything else commercially available on the market, and this unlocks architectures and capabilities for vehicle manufacturers that previously weren’t possible,” Sylvestre said.
H3X touts its electric propulsion technology for a wide range of applications including electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft being developed for urban air mobility, large commercial aircraft such as a Boeing [BA] 737, military aircraft and vessel, electric boats, ferries, and power generation.
The company also said the investment will also help it scale up its headquarters for production.