The General Electric Catalyst is a turboprop developed by GE Aerospace and Avio Aero for a 1,200–1,400 shp design range. It received FAA certification in February 2025. The programme combines a new engine architecture with integrated digital control and additive manufacturing.[1][2]
Compression and power extraction
The compressor has four axial stages followed by one centrifugal stage, producing a published pressure ratio of 16:1. Air then passes through a compact reverse-flow combustor. A three-stage power turbine supplies a planetary reduction gearbox, which transfers power to the propeller. This arrangement brings together axial and centrifugal compression within a compact engine intended for general-aviation aircraft.[1]
Integrated control
Catalyst's propulsion control manages the engine and propeller together. It regulates fuel flow, propeller pitch and speed, bleed valves and variable stators, allowing single-lever power selection. Automatic starting and exceedance protection are also part of the system. The design therefore changes the pilot's interaction with the propulsion installation as well as the engine's internal machinery.[1]
Certification work
The FAA Part 33 programme involved more than twenty-three engines and over 190 component tests. GE's certification announcement described the milestone as the conclusion of a substantial European design, development and test effort, followed by work to increase production. The certification covers the engine itself, a distinct step within the development of the aircraft that will use it.[2]
Aircraft programmes
Catalyst was selected for Textron Aviation's Beechcraft Denali. A separate military application is the Eurodrone unmanned-aircraft programme: Avio Aero and Airbus Defence and Space signed a September 2022 contract covering 120 Catalyst 1300-ED1 engines with maintenance support. Those selections place the same underlying propulsion family in both piloted general aviation and a European military remotely piloted aircraft programme.[3]
Manufacturing approach
The design uses additively manufactured components to enable complex shapes and reduce component weight. GE links this manufacturing approach with the engine's advanced alloys and internal geometry, making production methods part of the effort to improve efficiency and durability rather than simply a different way of fabricating conventional parts.[1]