GE Aerospace has completed the first ground test of a fully integrated megawatt-class hybrid-electric propulsion system at its Peebles facility in Ohio, in work carried out with NASA under the EPFD and HyTEC programmes. GE said on 26 January 2026 that the 2025 test on a modified Passport engine demonstrated power transfer, extraction and injection in a commercial turbofan architecture.
The campaign validated a complete propulsion chain rather than isolated components. It combined motor-generators, power converters, inverters, controllers, gearboxes, propellers, batteries and a nacelle from multiple industrial partners. During the test, engineers simulated taxi, take-off, climb and cruise, and the system both drove the propeller and sent power back into the battery.
The result advances NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration effort and supports planned flight testing on a modified Saab 340B testbed. GE and NASA have positioned the technology as a route toward lower-emission commercial aviation and mid-2030s service entry.