NASA is producing an engine core for the first hybrid-electric aircraft engine

NASA is developing a new engine concept for the highly efficient, sustainable commercial aircraft of the future.

The US space agency is working with private sector partners to make the aviation industry more sustainable.

One of the key technologies NASA is working on is called Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC). It will be the smallest core ever for a hybrid-electric turbofan engine. The reduced size would result in a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption compared to existing engines.

The engine could also go down in history as the “first hybrid-electric production engine for commercial aircraft,” explained HyTEC project manager Antony Nerone in a NASA contribution.

HyTEC: Smaller engine core, lower CO2 emissions

A jet engine core combines compressed air with fuel and ignites it to produce electricity. A smaller core means greater fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions.

The aim of the HyTECH project is to demonstrate a compact core. Ultimately, the technology is expected to be ready for use in next-generation aircraft engines in the 2030s. HyTEC is being developed as part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership.

The HyTECH project has progressed through Phase 1 of development, in which a NASA team selected the component technologies for the core demonstrator. Now, in Phase 2, the team will design, build and test a compact core in collaboration with GE Aerospace. According to NASA, this phase will end with a core demonstration test.

“We were laser-focused from day one. We started the project with specific technical goals and success metrics and have not yet had to change course on any of them,” Nerone said.

The first mild hybrid electric motor

Maintaining the same level of thrust in a smaller engine core requires more heat and pressure compared to today’s standard jet engines. This means it needs to be made from more durable materials that can withstand these higher temperatures.

“Phase 2 is very complex. It’s not just a nuclear demonstration,” Nerone explained. “What we are developing has never been done before and requires bringing together many different technologies to create a new type of engine.”

Ultimately, the technologies tested through the HyTEC program will “enable much higher bypass ratio, hybridization, and compatibility with sustainable aviation fuels,” according to NASA.

The bypass ratio refers to the ratio between the amount of air that flows through the engine core and the amount that flows past and around the core. Reducing the core size while increasing the size of the turbofan it powers while maintaining the same thrust output would result in greater fuel efficiency.

“HyTEC is an integral part of our RISE program,” said Kathleen Mondino, who leads RISE program technologies at GE Aerospace, in the NASA post. “GE Aerospace and NASA have a long history of working together to advance the latest aerospace technologies. The HyTEC program builds on this relationship to plan the future of more sustainable flying.”

Hybridization will also be an essential part of HyTEC. The core of the engine is supplemented by electrical energy, further reducing CO2 emissions. According to Nerone, HyTEC will develop the “first mild hybrid electric motor and hopefully the first hybrid electric production engine for commercial aircraft.”