GE joined NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project. After years of developing individual components of a hybrid electric system—motors, generators and power converters—GE will systematically mature a megawatt class (MW) integrated hybrid electric powertrain to demonstrate flight readiness for single-aisle aircraft. Plans are to conduct ground and flight tests of the hybrid electric propulsion system by the mid-2020s using a modified Saab 340B testbed and GE’s CT7turboprop engines.
source.image: nasa
NASA is working in tandem with industry partner GE Aerospace on designing and building just such an engine, one that burns much less fuel by including new components to help electrically power the engine.
In this hybrid jet engine, a fuel-burning core powers the engine and is assisted by electric motors. The motors produce electric power, which is fed back into the engine itself—therefore reducing how much fuel is needed to power the engine in the first place.
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The hybrid-electric technology envisioned by NASA and GE Aerospace also could be powered by a new small jet engine core. A major HyTEC project goal is to design and demonstrate a jet engine that has a smaller core but produces about the same amount of thrust as engines being flown today on single-aisle aircraft.At the same time, the smaller core technology aims to reduce fuel burn and emissions by an estimated 5 to 10%.
