Electra Unveils Turbo-electric Airliner Concept

Electra has unveiled a turbo-electric airliner concept that the company projects could fly up to 17% more efficiently than the advanced aircraft otherwise expected by mid-century. The Virginia-based aircraft manufacturer, which is working to certify a hybrid-electric nine-seat model called the EL9 Ultra Short, designed the 100-seat regional airplane for NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 program.

The concept features a wide “double-bubble” fuselage that allows the aircraft’s body to generate more lift, according to Electra. Two underwing turbofans generate electricity that drives three electric fans at the tail. Those tail fans ingest the slower, drag-inducing air that flows near the aircraft’s body and accelerate it with the rest of the air passing through the engine—a technique known as boundary layer ingestion.

Designed to carry 100 or more passengers, Electra’s turbo-electric airliner would fit at existing airport gates and run on standard jet fuel or sustainable aviation fuel. The configuration could seat passengers in a twin-aisle cabin layout within a narrowbody class, improving passenger comfort while enabling more efficient boarding and deplaning, according to the company.

Electra’s chief engineer for research and future concepts, Alejandra Uranga, led the project. She co-led NASA-sponsored research at MIT that advanced the original double-bubble concept and its D8 aircraft design, and the AACES study revisits that architecture using electrification and distributed propulsion.

“This concept builds on years of research into how airframe shape and propulsion placement can work together to improve aircraft efficiency,” Uranga said. “What is different now is the ability to use electrification and distributed propulsion to more deeply integrate those systems. Designing the aircraft as a whole system is essential to realizing the full potential of future commercial aircraft.”

Alongside the concept, Electra produced 11 technical papers documenting the project’s methods and findings. Electra also adopted NASA’s Aviary open-source digital modeling tool to develop an electrified aircraft design suite that is available to the public. The study team drew partners including American Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Hinetics, MIT, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Irvine.

Maturing the concept by 2050 would require a NASA-accelerated effort, according to Parker Vascik, Electra’s director of product strategy. “That will require a NASA-accelerated technology initiative—in a double-bubble X-plane, multi-megawatt integrated generator, and kilovolt-class power distribution—to bring these capabilities to maturity by 2035 and position industry to carry them into service by 2050,” he said.

NASA selected Electra for AACES 2050 in November 2024, awarding the company a pair of contracts worth $3.5 million—its share of the $11.5 million the agency spread across five awardees that also included Aurora Flight Sciences, JetZero, Pratt & Whitney, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The agency expects the studies to wrap up by mid-2026.