Advanced Hybrid-Electric HyTEC Jet EngineHybrid-Electric HyTEC Jet Engine. GE Aerospace

NASA is developing an advanced Hybrid-Electric HyTEC, a small-core installed in General Electric Aerospace’s CFM RISE jet engine design.

Hybrid-electric cars have been common on the roads for years, and soon that same combination of electric and gas power could be used in the skies for future jet airliners.

One of the main goals of NASA’s Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project is to create a jet engine with a smaller core that delivers similar thrust to today’s engines used on single-aisle planes.

This hybrid jet engine would use a fuel-burning core assisted by electric motors. These motors generate electricity, which is then fed back into the engine to reduce fuel consumption.

The project aims to demonstrate this concept by 2028, with the potential for airliner use in the 2030s. It would mark a significant advance in jet engine technology, becoming the first mild hybrid-electric jet engine, where electrical machines both power and generate energy for the engine.

“This will be the first mild hybrid-electric engine and could lead to the first production engine for narrow-body airliners that’s hybrid electric,” said Anthony Nerone, who leads the HyTEC project from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “It really opens the door for more sustainable aviation even beyond the 2030s.”

source NASA