GE Aerospace reached a new test milestone in hybrid-electric aviation by successfully demonstrating power transfer, extraction, and injection in a high-bypass commercial turbofan engine. The company is developing a narrowbody hybrid-electric architecture that embeds electric motor-generators in a gas turbine engine to supplement power during different phases of operation. The design optimizes performance and creates a system that can operate with or without energy storage, such as batteries. Arjan Hegeman, vice president of future of flight for GE Aerospace, believes this is a critical step for making commercial hybrid-electric flight a reality.
GE Aerospace’s first ground test of a commercial hybrid electric engine, further paving the way for more electric future of flight. Image: GE Aerospace
Ground testing of a modified Passport engine was completed in 2025 at Peebles Test Operation as part of NASA’s Turbofan Engine Power Extraction Demonstration project. Testing exceeded NASA’s technical performance benchmarks, which are based on industry input about engine capabilities that would provide meaningful fuel cost savings for U.S. aviation while also meeting the power requirements of future aircraft.
The Power Extraction Demonstration is one of several efforts GE Aerospace has underway to mature technologies for more electric aircraft engines through the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program. RISE is a technology demonstration program of CFM International, a 50-50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines. Unveiled in 2021, the RISE program has completed more than 350 tests and more than 3,000 endurance cycles to date, prioritizing safety, durability, and efficiency, and targeting more than 20% better fuel burn compared to commercial engines in service today. RISE program technologies are maturing toward ground and flight tests this decade, with work underway on aircraft and engine integration in collaboration with partners.
GE Aerospace has achieved multiple hybrid electric milestones over the last decade, including a 2016 ground test of an electric motor-driven propeller. In 2022, GE Aerospace completed the world’s first test of a megawatt-class and multi-kilovolt hybrid electric propulsion system in altitude conditions up to 45,000 feet that simulate single-aisle commercial flight.
A new strategic partnership and equity investment announced in 2025 with BETA technologies plans to develop a hybrid electric turbogenerator for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) applications.
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