By Rajesh Kumar Singh
EVENDALE, Ohio (Reuters) – GE Aerospace is developing a hybrid electric engine with hopes it will power the next generation of narrow-body jets by the middle of the next decade.
Although the technology is still being tested, if GE is successful, it could produce jets with hybrid engines – like a Toyota Prius from the skies – that would do much to reduce the aviation industry’s carbon emissions around the world, half of which comes from single-aisle jets.
Hybrid cars are common on the roads, but decarbonizing the aerospace industry is considered much more difficult. In hybrid engines, an aircraft uses several energy sources during flight. Airbus estimates that the combination of energy sources – jet fuel or sustainable aviation fuels combined with electricity – reduces fuel consumption by up to 5% compared to a normal flight.
GE Aerospace is working with NASA on a project that will incorporate electric motors or generators into a high-bypass turbofan to supplement power during different phases of operation, company executives said.
On Wednesday, the company said it had completed initial testing of the hybrid components and a baseline test of the engine. It then plans to test the components and engine together.
The global aviation industry has set a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. But technologies such as electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft are still unproven, making decarbonization a formidable challenge for the industry, which generates around 2% of global emissions.
Developing more fuel-efficient engines to reduce emissions is a new challenge for the aviation industry. Environmental critics have said the industry’s net-zero emissions targets are unrealistic and argued that the only way to achieve them is to substantially reduce flights globally.
The hybrid engine program is one of several projects GE Aerospace has undertaken to develop more fuel-efficient technology.
In partnership with France’s Safran, GE is testing the components of an open-blade jet engine for the next generation of medium-haul jets that will be capable of reducing fuel consumption and emissions by 20% from mid- of the next decade.
GE rival RTX is also working on a hybrid-electric technology demonstrator that combines a heat engine with an electric motor, with the aim of improving fuel efficiency by 30%.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Will Dunham)
