General Electric Aviation and MagniX have won two contracts to develop mature Electrified Aircraft Propulsion systems for US commercial domestic air travel over the next 14 years, NASA announced.
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“NASA has selected two US companies to support its Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) that will rapidly mature Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technologies through ground and flight demonstrations,” the space agency said on Thursday.
“Through the EPFD program, NASA seeks to introduce EAP technologies to US aviation fleets no later than 2035.”
General Electric Aviation of Cincinnati, Ohio, has received the contract worth $179 million and MagniX USA of Redmond, Washington, one worth $74.3million. The new technologies will support short-range and regional commercial air travel, as well as single-aisle seat transports, NASA said.
“By taking these concepts to flight, NASA and its partners will accelerate the transition of EAP technologies into commercial products and be a catalyst for economic growth,” NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Robert Pearce said.
Over the next five years, the two companies will conduct ground and flight test demonstrations of their EAP technologies. They will collaborate with other NASA projects, conduct flight test instrumentation, and data analysis and will stimulate spiral developments of megawatt-class EAP systems and technology, NASA said.
