GE Aerospace Completes First Ground Test of Narrowbody Hybrid Electric Engine System

For the first time, GE Aerospace has officially demonstrated successful power transfer, extraction and injection in a high-bypass commercial turbofan engine using the company’s narrowbody hybrid electric architecture.

GE Aerospace’s narrowbody hybrid electric architecture—currently under development—embeds electric motors or generators on gas turbine engines to generate power, allowing for optimized performance without mandatory need for energy storage.

The demonstration was part of the Turbofan Engine Power Extraction Demonstration project at NASA, which involved conducting ground testing on a modified Passport engine at Peebles Test Operation in 2025.

This exercise resulted in a better understanding of the system’s integration and controls aside from standalone components.

While NASA set technical performance benchmarks beforehand, testing results exceeded these. The benchmarks were based on comments about engine capabilities from aviation professionals that highlighted goals like:

• Reducing fuel costs
• Meeting power requirements of next-gen aircraft

“Hybrid electric propulsion is central to how GE Aerospace is redefining the future of flight,” said Arjan Hegeman, vice president of future of flight for GE Aerospace.

Hegeman continued, “Our latest milestone successfully demonstrated a narrowbody hybrid electric engine architecture that doesn’t require energy storage to operate.”

“It’s a critical step to making hybrid electric flight a reality for commercial aviation with technologies that meet customer needs for greater efficiency, durability, and range,” added Hegeman.

What is GE Aerospace’s hybrid electric experience?

GE Aerospace achieved its first milestone in hybrid electric propulsion in 2016 by ground testing an electric motor-driven propeller. The company also completed the first ever test of a megawatt-class and multi-kilovolt (kV) hybrid electric propulsion system at 45,000 feet, simulating single-aisle commercial flight.

A new partnership and investment announced in 2025 with BETA Technologies plans to develop a hybrid electric turbogenerator for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) applications.

How does this demonstration relate to RISE program testing?

GE Aerospace is currently spearheading the CFM International RISE program, which aims to accelerate development of modern technologies for next-gen aircraft engines. It also has a goal of achieving over 20% better fuel burn than other commercial engines.

The Power Extraction Demonstration is one of many efforts in this program.

The RISE program has completed more than 350 tests and 3,000 endurance cycles. This includes testing advanced engine architectures like:

• Open Fan
• Compact core
• Hybrid electric systems

CFM RISE program technologies are maturing toward ground and flight tests this decade with work underway on aircraft and engine integration in collaboration with partners.

Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) is a technology demonstration program of CFM International, a 50-50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines. It is not a product offered for commercial sale.