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Aircraft Configurations 

Electrified aircraft concepts use electricity from battery-powered motors for propulsion. They can either be the sole source of energy or be combined with traditional fuel-based engines. NASA and its industry partners are exploring six different propulsion system architectures for future electrified aircraft, including an all-electric system configuration, three hybrid electric configurations, and two turboelectric configurations.  

All-electric
Hybrid Electric
Turboelectric

All-electric

Fully electric aircraft systems use electricity from batteries as the sole source of power for propulsion.  

A visualization of the parts of an all-electric aircraft system with a battery and arrow pointing to a motor and a fan. The words “battery,” “electric bus,” “motor(s),” and “1 to many fans” are written above each component.
A visualization of a fully electric propulsion system configuration.
NASA

Hybrid Electric

Hybrid electric aircraft systems use traditional fuel-based engines for propulsion and to charge onboard batteries that can also be used as an energy source during flight.  

Parallel Hybrid

In a parallel hybrid system, a battery-powered motor and a traditional fuel-based engines are both mounted on a shaft that drives fan, so either one or both can provide propulsion at any given time.

A visualization of the parts of a parallel hybrid system that showcase a battery with an arrow pointing toward a motor that is connected to a turbofan. The words “battery,” “electric bus,” “motor,” “turbofan,” “fuel,” and “fan” are written next to each component.
A visualization of a parallel hybrid propulsion system configuration.
NASA

Series Hybrid

In a series hybrid system, only the electric motors are connected to the fans, and the traditional engines are used to drive an electrical generator that drives the motors and/or charges the batteries.

A visualization of the parts of a series hybrid system that showcases a battery and generator in the middle with arrows pointing to a turboshaft on the left and two motors and fans on the right. The words “turboshaft”, “fuel,” “generator,” “battery,” “electric bus,” “motor,” “distributed fans,” and “motor” are written next to each component.
A visualization of a series hybrid propulsion system configuration.
NASA

Series/Parallel Partial Hybrid

In a series/parallel partial hybrid system, there are one or more fans that can be driven directly by a traditional fuel-based engine and additional fans that are driven exclusively by electrical motors that can be powered by a battery or a turbine-driven generator.

A visualization of the parts of a series/parallel partial hybrid system that showcases a battery and generator in the middle, with arrows pointing toward a turbofan on the left and two motors and fans on the right. The words “fan,” “turbofan,” “fuel,” “generator,” “battery,” “electric bus,” “motor,” “1 to many fans,” and “motor” are written next to each component.
A visualization of a series/parallel partial hybrid propulsion system configuration.
NASA

Turboelectric

Turboelectric aircraft systems rely on traditional fuel-based engines to drive electric generators that power inverters and motors that power individual distributed electric fans. These systems do not directly use batteries as an energy source during flight. 

Partially Turboelectric

A partially turboelectric system uses electric propulsion to provide part of the propulsive power, with the rest provided by a turbofan driven by a traditional fuel-based engine.

A visualization of a partially turboelectric system that showcases a turbofan on the left connected to a generator in the middle, with arrows pointing toward to motors and fans on the right. The words “fan,” “turbofan,” “fuel,” “generator,” “electric bus,” “motor,” “1 to many fans,” and “motor” are written next to each component.
A visualization of a partial turboelectric propulsion system configuration.
NASA

Fully turboelectric

A fully turboelectric system relies fully on traditional fuel-based engines to drive electric generators that then power inverters and motors to drive disturbed fans.

A visualization of a fully turboelectric system that showcases a turboshaft on the left connected to a generator in the middle, with arrows pointing toward two motors and fans on the right. The words “fuel,” “turboshaft,” “generator,” “electric bus,” “motor,” “distributed fans” and “motor” are written next to each component.
A visualization of a fully turboelectric propulsion system configuration.
NASA

Reference 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Commercial Aircraft Propulsion and Energy Systems Research: Reducing Global Carbon Emissions, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2016, Chap. 4.  

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