BAE Systems Providing GE Aviation With Energy Management Solutions for Hybrid Electric Aircraft

BAE Systems announced that it has been selected by GE Aviation to provide energy management solutions for the hybrid-electric technology demonstrator program recently awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Its role in the research project will include designing, testing and supplying energy management components for electric aircraft in the megawatt power class, BAE Systems said Thursday.

In a statement, the British company revealed that ground and flight tests will be conducted over the next five years. The efforts will support NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project, which aims to progress hybrid-electric flight technologies for commercial aviation.

BAE Systems said that in addition to energy storage, it will also provide the high-integrity controls and cables for the demonstrator’s power management system, which will be tested on CT7-9B  turboprop engines. The company added that it will also tap into its range of resources to provide guidance for electric flight certification requirements.

Ehtisham Siddiqui, vice president and general manager of Controls and Avionics Solutions at BAE Systems, explained that his company will harness its expertise in energy management systems and flight critical controls to support the development of electric propulsion systems for the future of flight.

For his part, Mohamed Ali, vice president and general manager of engineering for GE Aviation, energy management is an important component of efforts to develop a new breed of aircraft with reduced carbon emissions and are less dependent on fossil-based jet fuels.

In October 2021, NASA announced a partnership with GE Aviation to launch a hybrid-electric technology demonstrator program, which is expected to yield a new propulsion system by the mid-2020s. The hybrid-electric technology will be flight-tested with a modified Saab 340B testbed and GE’s CT7-9B turboprop engines.