NASA is working on the design of a new and Revolutionary engine for use in airplanes, which could greatly reduce fuel consumptionbecause it incorporates the use of electrical energy, just as the engines currently used by many cars in the world do.
In this hybrid jet engine, a fuel-burning core powers the engine and is assisted by electric motors. The motors produce electrical energy, which is fed back into the engine itself, reducing the amount of fuel needed to power the engine in the first place.
It could be ready by 2028
The work is being conducted as part of NASA’s Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project. This work aims to demonstrate this engine concept by the end of 2028 to enable its use on passenger aircraft as early as the 2030s.
This jet engine It would be the first mild hybrid-electric jet engine in historyA “mild hybrid” engine can be partially powered by electric machines that function as motors and generators, NASA reports.
Tiefensee Visits Rolls-Royce Aircraft Engine Plant Aircraft engines could be hybrid as early as 2028, according to a design being worked on by NASA. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
“This will be the first mild hybrid-electric engine and could lead to the first production engine for narrow-body passenger aircraft that is hybrid-electric,” said Anthony Nerone, who leads the HyTEC project from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.It really opens the door to more sustainable aviation even beyond the 2030s.″.
The hybrid-electric technology conceived by NASA and GE Aerospace could also be powered by a new small jet engine core.
One of the main goals of the HyTEC project is to design and demonstrate a jet engine that has a smaller core but produces approximately the same amount of thrust as engines currently used in single-aisle aircraft.
At the same time, the smaller core technology aims to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by an estimated 5 to 10 percent.
