CINCINNATI - GE Aerospace in Cincinnati announced a new test milestone for hybrid electric aviation, demonstrating power transfer, extraction, and injection in a high-bypass commercial turbofan engine.
Ground testing of a modified Passport engine was completed in 2025 at the company’s Peebles Test Operation in Ohio as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Turbofan Engine Power Extraction Demonstration project. The tests advanced understanding of system-level integration and control of a hybrid-electric turbofan, rather than focusing solely on individual components.
Hybrid power
GE Aerospace is developing a narrowbody hybrid electric engine architecture that embeds electric motor-generators within a gas turbine engine to supplement power during various phases of operation. The design is intended to optimize performance while operating with or without onboard energy storage such as batteries.
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"Hybrid electric propulsion is central to how GE Aerospace is redefining the future of flight," said Arjan Hegeman, vice president of future of flight for GE Aerospace. "Our latest milestone successfully demonstrated a narrowbody hybrid electric engine architecture that does not require energy storage to operate. It is a critical step toward making hybrid electric flight a reality for commercial aviation."
NASA said the testing exceeded technical performance benchmarks established with industry input to define engine capabilities capable of delivering meaningful fuel cost savings for U.S. aviation while meeting the power demands of future aircraft.
RISE program
The Power Extraction Demonstration is one of several efforts underway at GE Aerospace to mature technologies for more electric aircraft engines under the CFM International RISE program. CFM International is a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
Unveiled in 2021, the RISE program includes more than 350 tests and more than 3,000 endurance cycles completed to date. Testing has covered advanced engine architectures including open fan designs, compact cores, and hybrid electric systems. The program targets more than 20 percent improvement in fuel burn compared with today’s in-service commercial engines, while emphasizing safety and durability.
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CFM said RISE technologies are progressing toward ground and flight testing later this decade, with aircraft and engine integration work underway with industry partners.
GE Aerospace has achieved several hybrid electric propulsion milestones over the past decade. These include a 2016 ground test of an electric motor-driven propeller and a 2022 test of a megawatt-class, multi-kilovolt hybrid electric propulsion system under simulated altitude conditions up to 45,000 feet, representative of single-aisle commercial flight.
"Turbines already exist. Compressors already exist. But there is no hybrid-electric engine flying today, and that is what we were able to see," said Anthony Nerone, who served as manager of NASA’s Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core project at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland during development of the test engine.
In a separate effort, GE Aerospace announced a strategic partnership and equity investment in 2025 with BETA Technologies aimed at developing a hybrid electric turbogenerator for advanced air mobility applications.
