GE Aerospace utilizes exascale supercomputers to advance jet engine technology
CINCINNATI - GE Aerospace in Cincinnati has announced it is one of the largest users of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) exascale supercomputers, which it is using to develop next-generation commercial jet engine technologies.
Since 2022, GE Aerospace has secured over 3 million hours on two of the world’s fastest supercomputers through a competitive, peer-reviewed proposal process. These exascale systems, capable of performing billions of calculations per second, enable engineers to run previously infeasible simulations, accelerating technology development.
"Developing next-generation aviation technologies for a safer, more energy-efficient industry requires game-changing engineering capabilities," said Arjan Hegeman, vice president of commercial future of flight engineering at GE Aerospace. "GE Aerospace is proud of its continued collaborations with the U.S. Department of Energy to advance the future of flight and keep one of the largest U.S. export industries competitive globally."
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The company is using the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to study the integration of Open Fan engine architecture with aircraft in collaboration with Boeing and NASA. The project, which also secured computing time on the Aurora supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois through the INCITE program, examines the aerodynamics of an Open Fan engine mounted on an aircraft wing. The research aims to optimize efficiency, noise reduction, and overall performance. Open Fan architecture features an uncased design, allowing for a larger fan size and reduced drag to improve fuel efficiency.
Frontier, operational since 2022, is the world’s second-fastest supercomputer. Aurora became available to researchers in January 2025 and is the third fastest.
For over a decade, GE Aerospace and its research center in Niskayuna, N.Y., have collaborated with the Department of Energy on high-performance computing applications for aviation.
The Open Fan design is part of CFM International’s Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program, launched in 2021 to advance fuel-efficient engine technologies. The program, a joint effort between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines in Paris, is developing hybrid-electric systems and compact engine cores compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It aims to improve fuel efficiency by 20% over the most advanced commercial engines currently in service.
