NASA and GE Aerospace are building hybrid airplane engines
GE Aerospace and NASA have teamed up to test a new hybrid turbofan engine, and it just cleared some major ground tests in Ohio.
This tech could help make future airplane engines cleaner and more efficient—especially for the single-aisle jets most of us fly.
How does a hybrid engine work?
Instead of wasting energy, the engine uses built-in generators to grab electricity during low-power times (like taxiing or descending).
That power charges batteries, which then help boost takeoff without burning extra fuel.
The system is flexible—it can run with or without batteries—and uses high-tech parts to handle all that energy safely.
The tech already beats NASA's targets
This hybrid tech already beat NASA's targets, pulling out four times more power than current engines.
The goal is to cut airline fuel use by over 20%, which means fewer emissions and maybe cheaper flights down the road.
No timeline for real-world flight tests is provided in the source.