PEEBLES, Ohio - GE Aerospace has completed the first integrated ground test of a megawatt-class, hybrid-electric propulsion system using a modified CT7 turboprop engine, the company announced June 2. Developed with funding from NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project, the evaluation simulated various flight phases, including taxi, takeoff, climb and cruise. During the test, the parallel hybrid system successfully used its electric powertrain to drive the propeller while generating energy to recharge its batteries.
The ground testing paves the way for flight evaluations, which GE Aerospace previously estimated would begin in the mid-2020s using a modified Saab 340 regional airliner. While the company declined to provide a specific date for the recent ground test or an updated flight-test timeline, officials confirmed the architecture relies on components from several industry partners. The system integrates GE motor-generators and power electronics alongside Dowty Propellers, Avio Aero gearboxes, BAE Systems batteries and an Aurora Flight Sciences composite nacelle.
The data gathered will inform the design of an open-rotor engine being developed through the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines, or RISE, program. That effort is conducted alongside Safran through their CFM International joint venture, which is pitching the concept to power new narrowbody jets that Airbus and Boeing plan to bring to market in the 2030s.
