GE Aerospace has completed the world’s first hybrid electric flight above 30,000 feet in partnership with NASA, BETA Technologies and Boeing, demonstrating technologies designed to improve aircraft efficiency and support the future of more sustainable aviation.
GE Aerospace has announced the successful completion of what it describes as the aviation industry’s first hybrid electric flight above 30,000 feet, marking a significant milestone in the development of more electric aircraft propulsion systems.
The flight, conducted in collaboration with NASA, BETA Technologies and Boeing, reached altitudes comparable with those of commercial passenger aircraft. During the test campaign, the aircraft also completed a hybrid electric flight lasting more than two hours.
The achievement was enabled by GE Aerospace’s fully integrated megawatt-class and multi-kilovolt hybrid electric propulsion system, developed through NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project.
The flight tests were carried out using a modified Saab 340B aircraft fitted with a hybrid electric propulsion system housed within an inverted nacelle designed to provide additional ventilation.
The propulsion system incorporates GE Aerospace-developed motor generators, power converters, inverters, controllers, gearboxes, propellers, heat exchangers, torque sensing technology, engine harnesses and a CT7 engine. BAE Systems supplied the batteries, while Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences developed the complete nacelle.
Pilots from GE Aerospace and BETA Technologies conducted the flight test programme in the United States before BETA Technologies ferried the aircraft to the Farnborough International Airshow, operating in hybrid electric mode throughout each stage of the transatlantic journey.
H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace, said: “The aviation industry’s first high-altitude hybrid electric flight is one for the history books. GE Aerospace is grateful to NASA, BETA Technologies and Boeing for their collaborative partnership to accelerate hybrid electric technology to meet customer needs for greater efficiency, durability and range.”
According to GE Aerospace, hybrid electric propulsion combines an electric powertrain with a conventional gas turbine engine to optimise power management during different phases of flight.
The company said the technology is compatible with multiple fuel types and advanced engine architectures, including Open Fan designs.
Engineering teams addressed challenges including heat management, lower atmospheric pressures and power density by developing flightworthy components capable of meeting aviation safety and reliability requirements. During the flight tests, the electric powertrain successfully powered the aircraft’s propeller while also generating power for the battery.
Kyle Clark, Founder and CEO of BETA Technologies, said: “This hybrid electric system improved the high-altitude performance and climb capability while creating a flying laboratory to inform all future hybrid designs. The GE Aerospace team brought rigorous design, test and operational expertise. The ground and safe flight test campaigns, capped by a flight across the North Atlantic, is the first of many important milestones for hybrid electric technology.”
Graham Drozeski, CTO of Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, said: “This team delivered multiple first-of-a-kind advancements to successfully integrate a high-voltage electrified propulsion system into an aircraft operating at commercial altitudes. Together, we’ve taken a significant step forward in hybrid-electric technology.”
GE Aerospace said the latest milestone forms part of a broader programme to mature hybrid electric technologies through NASA research initiatives.
The company was awarded NASA’s EPFD contract in 2021 and has achieved several development milestones since, including altitude testing of its megawatt-class hybrid electric propulsion system, strategic collaboration with BETA Technologies, hybrid electric engine demonstrations through NASA’s HyTEC programme and ground testing completed earlier this year.
Mohamed Ali, President and CEO of GE Aerospace Commercial Engines & Services, said: “Hybrid electric technologies are durable and efficient. By flying a hybrid electric engine system at altitudes never achieved before, we’re proving to our customers and to the industry the advanced capabilities we can bring to next-generation aircraft with ready technologies.”
GE Aerospace said the technologies demonstrated during the flight programme are also contributing to the CFM International Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) technology demonstration programme.
The programme has completed approximately 500 test campaigns and more than 3,000 endurance cycles across technologies including Open Fan, compact core and hybrid electric propulsion, with the objective of improving fuel efficiency in future aircraft engine designs.
