GE Aviation is ramping up research on multiple fronts, including three partnership demonstration programs launched over the past year, as it progresses toward its goal of net zero by 2050. The company is highlighting those efforts with a GE to Net Zero digital display at its pavilion (Chalet B026) at the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow.

GE invested $1.6 billion in aviation research and development in 2021, including emissions-reducing technologies. Noting the company recently renewed its commercial engines portfolio, Allen Paxson, v-p and general manager of GE Aviation commercial program strategy, said the company has outlined its technology "building blocks" for the future to further improve fuel efficiency and ensure their compatibility with lower-carbon fuels. "We currently have one of the most robust innovation pipelines in our company’s more than 100-year history to help the industry become more sustainable,” he explained.

Since June 2021, the engine maker has participated in three separate partnership demonstration programs, including one between Airbus and CFM International—a 50-50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines—to develop and test a hydrogen-powered engine. GE also has joined an initiative with NASA and Boeing to develop and fly a megawatt hybrid-electric propulsion system. CFM also is moving forward with its RISE (Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines) program involving new architectures such as open fan. The program has a goal of achieving at least 20 percent lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions compared with the most efficient engines today. Plans call for multiple ground and flight tests for engines that could reach market beginning in the mid-2030s.

In separate efforts, GE, CFM, and its Engine Alliance partnership with Pratt & Whitney have all approved use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for their engines. GE is continuing testing and demonstration programs as well as working with the standards organization body ASTM as it pursues 100 percent SAF drop-in opportunities.

Other sustainable efforts surround gaining efficiencies through advanced materials such as ceramic matrix composites and system technologies such as optimized flight paths. GE Aviation further pointed to its 360 Foam Wash on-wing cleaning technology that improves engine efficiency and GE Digital’s FlightPulse flight analytics tool.

“The challenges ahead of our aviation industry are significant,” Paxson said. “We take our role in supporting the industry through the current recovery as well as accelerating the path to lower CO₂ emissions seriously.”