GE Aerospace Completes Hybrid-Electric Test

After years of simulations and component tests, GE Aerospace has now completed a test of a complete hybrid-electric powertrain. The system reached an output of 1 megawatt and has demonstrated enough maturity for the next step in the program: flight testing.

The test was completed recently at Peebles Test Operation in Ohio, GE Aerospace said in a media release on June 2. The system included a CT-7 engine, GE Aerospace electric motor/generators, power converters, inverters, and controllers, Dowty propellers, BAE batteries, an Avio Aero gearbox, and a Boeing nacelle.

Tests simulated taxi, take-off, climb and cruise. “The electric powertrain helped successfully power the propeller and generated power to the battery. Flightworthy components that meet higher safety and reliability requirements than typical test hardware were used as part of GE Aerospace’s efforts to mature a commercial-grade hybrid electric engine system”, GE says.

The first tests go back to 2016, when an electric motor-driven propeller completed ground tests. In 2021, GE’s hybrid-electric project was awarded funding under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) program. At the 2022 Farnborough Airshow, GE, Boeing and NASA said that they had tested a 1 MW system at a simulated altitude of FL450.

Another milestone was completed late last year, when at Peebles the GE team successfully demonstrated power transfer, extraction, and injection on a high-bypass Passport turbofan engine.

RISE
Both the power extraction tests and the latest complete system test are key ingredients of GE Aerospace’s and Safran’s CFM RISE open rotor demonstrator program. RISE targets a 20 percent fuel burn advantage over the latest technology turbofan engines, thanks to the open rotor and compact core, which results in a bypass ratio of 60 to 1. New materials, sustainable fuels, and supercomputing are also part of the engine, but a 1 MW hybrid-electric power system enhances efficiency during the various phases of flight.

Over 350 tests and 3.000 cycles on individual components and systems have been completed since RISE was unveiled in 2021. The open rotor is the clear favourite to power Airbus’s Next Generation Single Aisle (NGSA) aircraft, which has been under development since 2024 for entry into service in the second half of the 2030s.

GE Aerospace is on a tight schedule to prove that the open rotor concept with hybrid-electric support is mature. This includes ground testing and flight testing on an Airbus A380 testbed. Before that, GE will flight test the hybrid-electric CT7 on a modified Saab 340 test aircraft.

Commenting on the successful test, Arjan Hegeman, GE’s vice president for future flight, commented: “Step by step, we’re proving hybrid electric engine technology for next-generation commercial aircraft. This latest ground test of a complete hybrid electric powertrain positions GE Aerospace to have the technologies ready to meet customer needs for greater durability, efficiency and range in future propulsion systems.”

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Richard Schuurman

Richard Schuurman is a freelance aviation reporter since 2016 and covers commercial aviation and the aerospace industry. He has contributed before to AirInsight between 2018-2024.

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