GE Aerospace Completes Ground Testing of Hybrid Electric Propulsion System

en.Wedoany.com Reported - After completing ground testing of its megawatt-class hybrid electric propulsion system, GE Aerospace will move to the next phase: flight testing on a modified Saab 340B testbed. The system is based on GE's CT7 turboprop engine and integrates an electric motor and generator developed by GE, along with power converters, inverters, controllers, a Dowty propeller, an Avio Aero gearbox, and batteries supplied by BAE Systems, with the nacelle provided by Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences.

This propulsion system is part of NASA's Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project. GE was awarded a $179 million contract by NASA in September 2021 to launch the project. In 2022, the system successfully completed simulated altitude testing at NASA's Electric Aircraft Testbed facility in Sandusky, Ohio.

The recently completed ground testing at the Peebles facility simulated various operational phases, including taxi, takeoff, climb, and cruise. GE stated that the electric powertrain successfully drove the propeller and generated power for the batteries. The tests used airworthy components meeting higher safety and reliability requirements, as part of GE's efforts to mature a commercial-grade hybrid electric engine system. Arjan Hegeman, Vice President of Future Flight at GE Aerospace, called the ground testing a major turning point in understanding aviation hybrid electric powertrains and a foundational building block for the future.

In parallel efforts, GE recently also tested a hybrid electric mode on a modified Passport business jet engine, a key step in developing future single-aisle propulsion systems under CFM International's Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) initiative. These tests also marked the culmination of the Power Extraction (PEx) project for turbofan engines under NASA's Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) initiative. Lessons learned from the HyTEC and PEx projects are feeding back into the RISE initiative, a new centerline engine program developed jointly by GE and CFM partner Safran, targeting a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency over the current CFM Leap-1 engine.

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