An Integrated Multimodal Energy Management Strategy for Hydrogen-Lithium Hybrid eVTOLs

For the limited endurance issue of pure batterypowered electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, a hybrid power system combining hydrogen fuel cells and lithium batteries represents a highly promising solution. However, its multi-energy-flow coupling characteristics pose significant challenges for efficient energy management. This study proposes a coordinated optimization framework for flight profiles and energy management tailored to hydrogen-lithium hybrid-powered composite-wing eVTOLs. After establishing a power demand model covering multimodal flight tasks-including VTOL, fixedwing cruise, and mode transitions-we utilize the Pontryagin minimization principle to compute offline the globally optimal reference trajectory for battery state of charge (SOC) based on flight profile information. Building upon this, we design an adaptive model predictive control (MPC) online tracking algorithm to achieve real-time optimal power allocation within the flight envelope. High-fidelity simulation validation demonstrates that compared to traditional rule-based strategies, this approach reduces average fuel cell power consumption/direct hydrogen consumption by 5.31 % while enabling smooth tracking of battery SOC. This effectively enhances system energy efficiency, providing a reference for improving energy efficiency and extending the service life of hybrid eVTOLs.