NASA Partners with GE Aerospace to Develop Fuel-Efficient Engines for Single-Aisle Aircraft

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a collaboration with GE Aerospace of Cincinnati for its Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project. This initiative aims to pioneer more fuel-efficient engines for single-aisle aircraft, as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles program.

Under the HyTEC project’s Phase 2 Integrated Core Technology Demonstration, a cost-sharing contract with a maximum value of approximately $68.1 million has been awarded. The performance period for this five-year contract begins on February 15, 2024. Notably, GE Aerospace commits to a minimum 50% cost share during this contract period.

HyTEC was established with the primary objective of expediting the development of turbofan engine small core technologies. The initial phase of this endeavor concentrated on the advancement of key engine core technologies, including high-pressure compressors, high-pressure turbines, advanced materials, electric hybridization, and compact combustors, through subsystem or component testing. In Phase 2, GE Aerospace will integrate these technologies into an engine core to conduct a compact, high-power density core ground demonstration by September 2028.

In the first phase of HyTEC, NASA collaborated with RTX’s Pratt & Whitney division in Hartford, Connecticut to progress new combustor designs tailored for small-core engines. The combustor, also known as the combustion chamber, is where fuel combines with compressed air and ignites, generating the high-temperature gas that propels the engine.

Tony Nerone, HyTEC project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, emphasized the importance of these developments for achieving the Aviation Climate Action Plan’s carbon emissions objectives. Future single-aisle aircraft engines will need to burn sustainable aviation fuels to meet these goals. HyTEC’s role is to create small core engine combustors that are not only more efficient and durable but also capable of using sustainable aviation fuels without compromising engine performance, all while delivering significant emissions reductions.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, militaryaerospace.com