GE Aerospace and BETA Technologies (BETA) have completed what they described as the world’s first hybrid-electric assisted take-off using an aircraft designed to carry passengers at commercial airliner altitudes.
The milestone was announced at the Up.Summit industry event following tests with a modified Saab 340B at BETA’s flight test facility in Plattsburgh, New York.
The aircraft used a conventional GE Aerospace CT7 gas engine on one side and a modified hybrid-electric engine on the other. The latter comprises a fully integrated megawatt-class, multi-kilovolt propulsion system.
During take-off, electric motors and a battery system provided additional power to supplement the conventional gas engine, delivering the thrust required.
Previous hybrid-electric flight tests by the two companies had demonstrated electrical power assistance during climb and cruise, as well as power regeneration during cruise and descent.
Initial observations indicated that hybrid-electric assistance enabled take-off with less noise than using conventional gas engines alone.
“GE Aerospace is advancing the building blocks that will define the future of hybrid-electric flight, now successfully demonstrating a more efficient commercial take-off with a hybrid-electric system,” said Arjan Hegeman, Vice-President of Future of Flight Engineering at GE Aerospace.
He added that the company was progressively demonstrating next-generation technologies, including hybrid systems and Open Fan architecture, to meet customer requirements.
