H3X has lift-off with HBK’s advanced testing solutions to drive the future of electric aviation

The collaboration revolutionises the future development of high-power density electric motors.
Global, March 2025

H3X, a pioneer in high-power density electric propulsion systems, has partnered with HBK to provide robust testing and validation of its groundbreaking electric motors.

Pushing the boundaries of electric aviation with its ultra-high power density integrated motor drives (IMDs), H3X’s HPDM series of high-performance motors are three times more efficient than conventional systems.

This places H3X on the precipice of advancement in electric propulsion: delivering the necessary power for commercial aircraft, while maintaining the perfect weight-to-performance ratio.

When H3X needed to fine-tune its products and substantiate its performance claims, they turned to HBK.

With HBK’s advanced measurement and data acquisition solutions, H3X gained critical insights into its own technology, speeding up the development of next-generation electric aircraft and other sustainable transport solutions.

HBK’s eDrive power and torque measurement system – as well as its Perception data acquisition software designed for rapid and reliable processing of large amounts of data – allowed H3X to streamline its testing processes, providing accurate and efficient product validation.

James Swanke, Senior Motor Design Engineer at H3X, commented:

“Being able to have accurate and reliable data acquisition really makes it easier to feed [those insights] back into our engineering process. I don’t think there are many people that can compete in terms of the accuracies that [HBK] claims.”

Through this collaboration, H3X’s team can now automate test logging, improve efficiency mapping, and boost its firmware debugging capabilities. H3X also praised the flexibility of HBK’s sensors, easily adjusting parameters to suit a wide range of testing applications to make testing processes much simpler for their team.

Looking ahead, H3X plans to scale production and expand its product lineup of electrification solutions for aviation, defense, marine, and heavy industry. HBK is expected to remain a key partner in this journey, providing reliable measurement solutions for H3X’s intensive long-duration tests.

Combining H3X’s groundbreaking propulsion systems with HBK’s trusted expertise in testing and measurement, the future of electric aviation is ready for take-off.

Explore how H3X and HBK’s new partnership provides innovative electrification solutions in the aviation industry.

About HBK – Hottinger Brüel & Kjær

Hottinger Brüel & Kjær (HBK)’s testing and measurement solutions give engineers around the world the accurate, up-to-date data they need to bring higher-quality products to market faster.

HBK bridges the physical and virtual worlds with robust, flexible hardware and precise, powerful analytics software. Giving design, test, and measurement engineers complete confidence in every reading and every data-driven decision – across the entire product development lifecycle.

Backed by decades of experience and deep expertise, HBK’s sensors and software transform testing and measurement in a huge range of use cases, from building more aerodynamic aircraft to testing the safety of automotive vehicles, and monitoring assets throughout their production cycle.

HBK empower the innovators by providing exceptional sensing and insights to help create solutions for a cleaner, healthier and more productive world.

For more information, please visit www.hbkworld.com