FIA 2026: GE Aerospace demonstrates hybrid-electric flight above 30,000ft
GE Aerospace has completed a hybrid-electric flight demonstration above 30,000ft using a modified Saab 340B test aircraft, a feat the company says is the first such operation at altitudes typically used by commercial passenger aircraft. The news was announced this morning at the Farnborough Airshow
The programme was conducted with NASA, BETA Technologies, Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences and other industry partners as part of NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project.
According to GE Aerospace, the aircraft operated in hybrid-electric mode for more than two hours during a single flight. The test campaign used a megawatt-class, multi-kilovolt hybrid-electric propulsion system developed through the EPFD programme.
“The aviation industry’s first high-altitude hybrid electric flight is one for the history books,” said H. Lawrence Culp Jr, chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace.
The Saab 340B was modified to accommodate a hybrid-electric propulsion system comprising GE Aerospace-developed motor-generators, power converters, inverters and control systems integrated with a CT7 engine. The aircraft also incorporated an electrified nacelle supplied by Aurora Flight Sciences and batteries provided by BAE Systems.
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BETA Technologies acted as systems integrator and supported flight-test operations. The company also flew the aircraft from the United States to the UK ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow, operating in hybrid-electric mode during each leg of the journey.
Kyle Clark, founder and CEO of BETA Technologies, said the flight-test programme provided operational data on hybrid-electric propulsion system performance at altitude.
The aircraft is scheduled to participate in flying displays at Farnborough and will also be available on static display during the airshow.
GE Aerospace said the demonstration forms part of its wider work on aircraft electrification and technologies being developed through NASA programmes. The company said experience gained through EPFD is helping to mature technologies associated with future propulsion concepts, including those being evaluated under the CFM International RISE programme.
GE was awarded the NASA EPFD contract in 2021. The programme is intended to demonstrate the flight readiness of hybrid-electric technologies for future commercial aircraft applications.
Mohamed Ali, president and CEO of GE Aerospace Commercial Engines & Services, said the latest flight testing demonstrates the operation of hybrid-electric propulsion systems at commercial flight altitudes.
“This flight shows capabilities that could contribute to future-generation aircraft designs,” he said.