Article At A Glance

• GE Aviation and Safran operate as a 50/50 joint venture called CFM International, the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines.
• Their CFM RISE program targets more than 20% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s most advanced engines.
• CFM RISE uses breakthrough technologies including open fan architecture, ceramic matrix composites, and hybrid electric capability.
• The competitive landscape includes Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engine and Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan, both pushing the efficiency frontier in different aircraft segments.
• Keep reading to find out which revolutionary technology in the RISE program could be the deciding factor in aviation’s race to net zero by 2050.

The next generation of flight is being built right now, and the two companies most responsible for powering it have been partners for over 50 years.

GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines have redefined what commercial aviation looks like through their CFM International joint venture, founded in 1974. Today, CFM powers some of the world’s most flown aircraft, including the Boeing 737 Max and the Airbus A320neo family. For a deep dive into the technologies shaping the future of sustainable flight, this resource on green turbine innovation is worth exploring alongside this comparison.

GE Aviation and Safran Are Rewriting the Rules of Flight

Aviation accounts for roughly 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, but its total climate impact is significantly higher when non-CO2 effects are included. That pressure has turned engine efficiency from a commercial advantage into an industry-wide imperative. GE and Safran are responding with the most technically ambitious propulsion program ever attempted for commercial narrowbody aircraft.

The CFM RISE (Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines) program isn’t an incremental upgrade. It’s a complete rethinking of how a jet engine should work, targeting performance benchmarks that would have seemed unreachable just a decade ago.

CFM RISE Program Goal: Reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 20% compared to today’s most advanced CFM engines, with entry into service targeted for the mid-2030s.

What makes this especially significant is the baseline they’re comparing against. Today’s LEAP engine is already among the most efficient narrowbody powerplants flying. Cutting another 20% from that number requires entirely new thinking in materials, aerodynamics, and propulsion architecture.

The CFM Partnership: A 50-Year Alliance Built to Dominate

CFM International has operated as a true 50/50 joint venture since 1974, making it one of the most enduring and productive partnerships in industrial history. The venture was renewed in 2008 to launch the LEAP program, and has since been extended all the way to 2050 to cover the RISE program and whatever comes after it.

How GE and Safran Split Responsibilities in CFM International

The partnership works because each company contributes what it does best. Rather than duplicating effort, GE and Safran divide development and production responsibilities across the engine’s core systems.

• GE Aerospace leads on the high-pressure core, combustion systems, materials science, and digital engine management.
• Safran Aircraft Engines handles the fan module, low-pressure turbine, and final engine assembly.
• Safran also contributes nacelles, thrust reversers, and landing gear systems through its broader group companies.
• Both companies share equally in revenue, risk, and program decision-making under the CFM governance structure.

This division isn’t just administrative. It reflects genuine areas of deep technical expertise that each company has spent decades developing independently. The result is an engine that draws from two of the world’s best propulsion engineering teams simultaneously.

From CFM56 to LEAP: A Track Record of Efficiency Gains

The CFM56 became the backbone of commercial aviation for over three decades, powering more than 33,000 aircraft worldwide. When the LEAP engine replaced it on the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo, it delivered a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency over the CFM56 — a massive leap for a mature product category. That progression from CFM56 to LEAP to RISE isn’t accidental. It’s the output of a disciplined, long-cycle technology development strategy that the two companies have refined over five decades. For more insights into aviation advancements, check out the FAA regulations insights for aviation professionals.

Why the Partnership Was Extended to 2050

Extending the CFM partnership to 2050 was a strategic signal as much as a contractual decision. The RISE program requires sustained investment in technologies that won’t mature for years, and neither company wanted to risk that commitment being disrupted by partnership uncertainty. With a shared roadmap locked in through 2050, GE and Safran can pursue ground testing, flight demonstration, and eventual certification with the confidence that both organizations are fully committed to seeing it through.

CFM RISE: The Most Ambitious Engine Program in Aviation History

Launched publicly in 2021, CFM RISE is a technology demonstration program, not yet a product. Its purpose is to mature a portfolio of disruptive technologies to the point where they can be integrated into a next-generation engine design, with commercial entry targeted for the mid-2030s.

The 20% Emissions Reduction Target Explained

The 20% target is measured against the LEAP engine, which is already the most fuel-efficient CFM engine ever built. Achieving that reduction requires advances across every major system simultaneously: the fan, the core, the combustion chamber, and the control architecture. The program has laid out a comprehensive technology roadmap to get there, and ground tests are expected to begin in the middle of this decade.

To put this in perspective, the jump from CFM56 to LEAP took roughly 15 years of development and delivered 15% efficiency gains. RISE is targeting a larger improvement, in a compressed timeframe, using technologies that don’t yet exist at production scale. That’s what makes it genuinely unprecedented.

Open Fan Architecture: What It Is and Why It Matters

One of the most visually striking and technically significant elements of CFM RISE is its open fan architecture. Unlike conventional turbofan engines, which enclose the fan inside a nacelle, an open fan design exposes the rotating blades directly to the airstream. This dramatically increases the bypass ratio — the ratio of air pushed around the engine core to air pushed through it — which is the single most powerful lever for improving propulsive efficiency. The engineering challenge is doing this while managing noise, blade containment, and aircraft integration at the speeds and altitudes of modern commercial flight.

Hybrid Electric Capability and What It Adds to the Program

CFM RISE includes hybrid electric capability as part of its technology portfolio. This doesn’t mean a fully electric engine — it means using electric systems to optimize specific phases of flight where a conventional turbine operates less efficiently, particularly during taxi, approach, and low-power cruise segments. The integration of hybrid electric architecture also creates opportunities for more precise power management and reduced thermal stress on core engine components.

Hydrogen and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Compatibility

The RISE program is being designed with compatibility for both hydrogen combustion and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). GE is specifically exploring hydrogen combustion and fuel cell applications within the RISE framework, targeting scenarios where SAF alone may not be sufficient to meet decarbonization goals. SAF compatibility is already present in today’s LEAP engines, but hydrogen combustion requires entirely new combustor designs, fuel handling systems, and safety protocols — all of which are active areas of research within the program.

The Technology Behind CFM RISE

The RISE program isn’t built on a single breakthrough. It’s a stack of interdependent technologies, each one pushing the boundaries of what’s physically possible in a commercial jet engine. The joint GE/Safran engineering team has mapped out a comprehensive roadmap that includes advanced materials, new manufacturing methods, and a test program of unprecedented scale.

Ceramic Matrix Composites and Heat-Resistant Alloys

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are one of the most consequential materials advances in modern propulsion engineering. They weigh roughly one-third of the nickel superalloys they replace, yet they can withstand temperatures exceeding 2,400°F — temperatures that would destroy conventional metal components without active cooling.

GE has been at the forefront of CMC development for decades, first deploying them in the LEAP engine’s combustor liner and high-pressure turbine shroud. In the RISE program, CMCs are expected to be used more extensively throughout the hot section, enabling higher operating temperatures that directly translate to better thermal efficiency and lower fuel burn.

Alongside CMCs, the program is developing next-generation heat-resistant metal alloys for components where ceramic materials aren’t yet practical. These alloys are engineered at the microstructural level to resist creep, oxidation, and thermal fatigue under sustained high-temperature operation.

Together, these materials allow the engine core to run hotter and more efficiently than any previous commercial engine design — which is the thermodynamic foundation of the entire 20% efficiency target. For a comparison of aircraft technologies, check out this article on Diamond vs Cirrus aircraft.

Materials Comparison: Legacy vs. RISE-Era Engine Components

Component	Legacy Material	RISE-Era Material	Key Benefit
Combustor Liner	Nickel Superalloy	Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC)	~33% weight reduction, higher temp tolerance
HP Turbine Shroud	Nickel Superalloy	CMC with thermal barrier coating	Reduces cooling air demand, improves efficiency
Fan Blades	Titanium alloy	Carbon fiber composite	Significant weight savings, improved aerodynamics
HP Turbine Blades	Cast nickel alloy	Advanced single-crystal alloy	Superior creep and oxidation resistance

Additive Manufacturing in Next-Generation Engine Builds

Additive manufacturing — commonly known as 3D printing — has moved well beyond prototyping in the aerospace sector. GE Aerospace has been a leader in using additive manufacturing for flight-critical engine components, and the RISE program extends this capability significantly. Fuel nozzles, heat exchangers, and complex internal cooling structures that were previously impossible to manufacture conventionally can now be produced as single integrated parts with superior performance characteristics. Discover more about the role of drones in enhancing aircraft emergency response as a modern approach.

The manufacturing advantage here is twofold. First, additive processes allow geometries that optimize airflow and thermal management in ways that traditional casting and machining simply cannot achieve. Second, they reduce part counts, which directly lowers assembly complexity, weight, and long-term maintenance costs — all critical factors in the total cost of ownership equation that airlines care deeply about.

300-Plus Component and Module Builds in the Test Program

The scale of the RISE technology demonstration program is staggering. The joint GE/Safran team has planned more than 300 individual component and module builds as part of the maturation process. Each build tests a specific technology or configuration under conditions that simulate real-world engine operation, generating the data needed to refine designs before full engine integration.

This level of testing rigor reflects the complexity of what the program is attempting. With open fan architecture, hybrid electric systems, new materials, and advanced manufacturing all being developed simultaneously, the test program must validate not just individual technologies but how they interact with each other across a complete propulsion system.

Where GE Aviation and Safran Each Bring Unique Strengths

While CFM International operates as a fully integrated joint venture, the two parent companies bring distinctly different technical DNA to the program. Understanding what each contributes explains why this partnership has been so consistently productive across five decades and three engine generations.

GE’s Edge in Materials Science and Digital Systems

GE Aerospace’s competitive advantage runs deepest in high-temperature materials and digital engine management. The company’s research into CMCs spans more than 20 years, giving it a materials science foundation that no other engine manufacturer can fully replicate. GE was the first to certify CMC components for use in a commercial jet engine, and that head start compounds with every new generation of the technology.

On the digital side, GE’s experience with predictive maintenance technologies and integrated engine control systems gives the RISE program a sophisticated data layer. Advanced fabrication techniques combined with integrated control systems improve engine reliability and reduce maintenance costs — areas where GE has steadily built competitive separation from its rivals.

Safran’s Strengths in Nacelles, Landing Gear, and Engine Accessories

Safran’s contribution to the CFM partnership extends well beyond engine hardware. Through its broader group of companies, Safran brings deep expertise in nacelles and thrust reversers, aircraft landing systems, and engine accessories including fuel systems and electrical generation. This systems-level integration capability is critical for the RISE program’s open fan architecture, where the interface between the engine and the airframe is far more complex than in a conventional turbofan installation. Safran’s ability to engineer across those boundaries — from the rotating fan stage through to the nacelle and aircraft structure — is a genuine differentiator. To understand more about advanced aviation systems, explore insights on FAA regulations.

The Competitive Landscape Pressing Both Companies Forward

CFM International may lead the narrowbody engine market today, but the pressure to innovate isn’t coming from a position of comfort. The competition for next-generation narrowbody propulsion is intensifying from multiple directions, and every efficiency point the RISE program targets is also being chased by rival programs with their own significant resources and technical capabilities.

The competitive dynamic is actually healthy for aviation’s sustainability goals. When the world’s leading propulsion companies are all pushing toward the same 20%+ efficiency threshold through different technical approaches, the probability that at least one of them succeeds — and does so on schedule — increases considerably.

What separates the contenders is not ambition, but execution history. CFM’s track record across CFM56 and LEAP gives the RISE program a credibility that newer entrants and less proven programs simply don’t have yet.

Pratt & Whitney’s GTF Engine as the Benchmark Rival

Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine is the most direct competitive benchmark for CFM in the narrowbody segment. The GTF’s gear system decouples the fan from the low-pressure turbine, allowing each to rotate at its optimal speed and delivering meaningful efficiency gains on the Airbus A220 and A320neo family. Pratt & Whitney is developing its own next-generation narrowbody technology for the post-2035 timeframe, targeting similar efficiency improvements through a different architectural approach. For more insights into aviation advancements, check out FAA regulations insights for aviation professionals.

The GTF has also had well-documented reliability challenges since entering service, which has given CFM’s LEAP engine a commercial advantage in the near term. Whether that pattern repeats with the next generation — where Pratt & Whitney’s gear-driven architecture faces even greater technical demands — remains one of the most closely watched questions in commercial aviation.

Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan and the Wide-Body Battle

Rolls-Royce is pursuing its own efficiency breakthrough through the UltraFan program, which targets a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the first-generation Trent engine. UltraFan also uses a power gearbox to drive its composite fan, and it’s aimed primarily at wide-body applications where Rolls-Royce competes directly with GE Aviation’s GEnx and GE9X engines. While UltraFan doesn’t directly threaten CFM in the narrowbody space, the technology development happening in that program — particularly around composite fan systems and high-efficiency core design — creates spillover competitive pressure across the entire industry.

GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce dominate the wide-body engine market, making every efficiency advance in that segment a direct competitive signal. The materials and systems knowledge developed for wide-body engines frequently migrates into narrowbody programs, which means Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan progress is something CFM watches carefully even outside its primary market.

Emerging Competition From AECC and United Engine Corporation

China’s AECC (Aero Engine Corporation of China) and Russia’s United Engine Corporation represent longer-term competitive threats that are reshaping how Western engine manufacturers think about their technology lead time. AECC in particular is pursuing aggressive development of domestic narrowbody and widebody engines, backed by substantial state investment and a clear strategic mandate to reduce China’s dependence on foreign propulsion technology. The competitive landscape these emerging players create adds urgency to the RISE program timeline — establishing the next generation of CFM technology before rivals can close the current performance gap is a strategic priority, not just a commercial one.

Aviation’s Climate Reckoning: The 2050 Net Zero Commitment

Aviation has made a sector-wide commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and the math only works if next-generation propulsion technology arrives on schedule. The RISE program isn’t just a competitive product development effort — it’s a core pillar of how the commercial aviation industry intends to honor that commitment while continuing to grow passenger capacity to meet global demand.

The scale of the challenge is worth stating plainly. Global air travel is projected to roughly double by 2050 compared to 2019 levels. That means the industry doesn’t just need to hold emissions flat — it needs to dramatically cut the emissions per passenger kilometer while flying significantly more people. That combination of growth and decarbonization is only achievable through step-change improvements in engine efficiency, not incremental refinements. CFM RISE, alongside SAF scaling and air traffic management improvements, represents one of the three pillars the industry is counting on to close that gap.

Mid-2030s Entry Into Service: What Needs to Happen First

The mid-2030s target for RISE-powered aircraft entering service sounds distant, but the development clock is already running. The path from technology demonstration to certified commercial engine is long, expensive, and unforgiving of shortcuts. Every major milestone between now and entry into service must be executed with precision for the timeline to hold. For aviation professionals, understanding FAA regulations is crucial in navigating this complex journey.

Ground Testing Milestones at GE and Safran Facilities

Ground testing for RISE program technologies is expected to begin in the middle of this decade at facilities operated by both GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines. GE’s Peebles Test Operation in Ohio — one of the world’s most capable jet engine test facilities — and Safran’s test infrastructure in France will both play roles in validating individual components, full modules, and eventually complete engine assemblies. Each of the 300-plus planned component and module builds feeds data into this testing pipeline, progressively reducing technical risk before the program commits to a final engine architecture.

Flight Demonstrator Timeline and What Success Looks Like

A flight demonstrator is the critical bridge between ground testing and full engine certification. For the RISE program, a flight demonstrator will need to validate open fan behavior in real flight conditions — including noise levels, blade dynamics, and aircraft integration — before a production engine design can be frozen. Success means demonstrating that the open fan architecture performs predictably across the full flight envelope, from takeoff to cruise to landing, without the vibration, noise, or safety concerns that have historically complicated unducted fan concepts.

CFM RISE Program: Key Milestones to Entry Into Service

Phase	Timeline	Key Activities	Success Criteria
Technology Demonstration	2021 – Mid-2020s	300+ component and module builds, materials maturation	Technology readiness levels achieved for all core systems
Ground Testing	Mid-2020s	Full module and engine core testing at GE and Safran facilities	Performance and durability targets validated at ground level
Flight Demonstration	Late 2020s	Open fan architecture tested in real flight conditions	Noise, safety, and performance benchmarks met across full flight envelope
Engine Certification	Early 2030s	Regulatory approval process with FAA and EASA	Type certification achieved for production engine design
Entry Into Service	Mid-2030s	Production ramp, airline deliveries begin	Commercial operation with 20%+ efficiency improvement confirmed

The certification process itself deserves attention. Open fan architecture presents novel regulatory questions that the FAA and EASA haven’t faced with previous commercial engine designs. Blade containment standards, bird strike certification, and noise regulations were all written with enclosed nacelle designs in mind. Navigating that regulatory landscape is one of the less-discussed but genuinely complex challenges the RISE program must solve before any airline takes delivery of an aircraft powered by this engine.

What success ultimately looks like isn’t just technical performance — it’s an engine that airlines actually want to operate. That means competitive maintenance costs, parts availability, training infrastructure, and dispatch reliability from day one. CFM’s existing service network across both LEAP and CFM56 fleets gives it a commercial deployment advantage that no new entrant can replicate, and that infrastructure will be a significant factor in how quickly RISE-powered aircraft scale across the global fleet once they enter service.

CFM RISE Is the Clearest Path to Sustainable Narrowbody Flight

No other program in commercial aviation combines the technical ambition, partnership depth, proven execution history, and industrial scale of CFM RISE. The 20% efficiency target over the already-advanced LEAP engine is extraordinary, and the technology stack being assembled to achieve it — open fan architecture, CMCs, hybrid electric capability, hydrogen compatibility, and advanced additive manufacturing — represents the most comprehensive propulsion development effort ever undertaken for narrowbody commercial aircraft.

The mid-2030s will arrive faster than the aviation industry expects. The decisions being made in engineering labs in Cincinnati and Paris today will determine whether the aircraft flying in 2040 honor the net zero commitments made in 2021, or whether aviation falls short of a climate target it set for itself. CFM RISE is the most credible answer the industry currently has to that question.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about CFM RISE, green turbine technology, and how GE Aviation and Safran are shaping the future of sustainable flight.

What is the CFM RISE program and when will it enter service?

The CFM RISE (Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines) program is a technology demonstration initiative launched by CFM International — the 50/50 joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines — targeting more than 20% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s most advanced CFM engines. Technologies matured through the RISE program are expected to power a next-generation CFM engine entering commercial service by the mid-2030s.

How does CFM RISE compare to Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engine on emissions?

Pratt & Whitney’s current GTF engine delivers meaningful efficiency gains over previous narrowbody engines through its gear-driven fan system, and it competes directly with the CFM LEAP engine in the Airbus A320neo family. However, CFM RISE is targeting the generation after LEAP, aiming for more than 20% additional improvement over LEAP’s already-advanced baseline. Pratt & Whitney is also developing next-generation technology for the post-2035 timeframe, but CFM RISE’s open fan architecture and comprehensive technology stack represent a more radical architectural departure from current designs.

What is an open fan engine and how is it different from a standard jet engine?

A standard turbofan engine encloses its fan blades inside a nacelle — the cylindrical housing visible on the front of most commercial jet engines. The nacelle helps direct airflow efficiently but also limits how large the fan diameter can practically be on an aircraft. An open fan engine removes that nacelle, exposing the rotating blades directly to the free airstream. This allows for a dramatically larger effective fan diameter and a much higher bypass ratio — meaning more air is accelerated around the engine core rather than through it — which is the most direct route to improved propulsive efficiency.

The engineering tradeoffs are real. Without a nacelle, open fan designs must address blade containment in the event of a failure, noise levels from exposed rotating blades at various flight speeds, and the complex aerodynamic interaction between the fan and the aircraft fuselage and wing. These are exactly the challenges the RISE flight demonstrator program is designed to solve before a production architecture is finalized.

Can CFM RISE engines run on hydrogen or sustainable aviation fuel?

Yes — the RISE program is explicitly designed to be compatible with both sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogen combustion. SAF compatibility is already present in current LEAP engines, as SAF can be used as a drop-in replacement for conventional jet fuel in existing combustor designs. Hydrogen is a more complex proposition, requiring entirely new combustor architecture, fuel handling systems, and onboard storage solutions, all of which are active areas of research within the RISE program.

GE Aerospace is specifically exploring both hydrogen combustion and fuel cell applications as part of its contribution to RISE. This dual-track approach reflects the uncertainty around which zero-carbon fuel pathway will scale fastest — rather than betting entirely on one option, the program is developing the technical capability to use either, leaving the door open for whichever fuel infrastructure emerges as the dominant solution by the time RISE-powered aircraft enter service in the mid-2030s.

How do GE Aviation and Safran divide work within the CFM International joint venture?

GE Aerospace vs. Safran: Division of Responsibilities in CFM International

System / Area	GE Aerospace	Safran Aircraft Engines / Group
High-Pressure Core	✓ Lead responsibility
Combustion Systems	✓ Lead responsibility
Materials Science (CMCs)	✓ Lead responsibility
Digital Engine Management	✓ Lead responsibility
Fan Module		✓ Lead responsibility
Low-Pressure Turbine		✓ Lead responsibility
Final Engine Assembly		✓ Lead responsibility
Nacelles & Thrust Reversers		✓ Via Safran Nacelles
Landing Systems		✓ Via Safran Landing Systems
Revenue & Risk Sharing	✓ 50% share	✓ 50% share

The 50/50 split in the CFM joint venture isn’t just financial — it’s operational. Both companies contribute engineering teams, test facilities, and manufacturing resources to every major program, and both share equally in the commercial outcomes. This structure has proven remarkably durable across five decades and multiple engine generations, surviving changes in corporate ownership, geopolitical pressures, and dramatic shifts in the commercial aviation market.

What makes the arrangement work is genuine complementarity. GE’s strengths in high-temperature materials and core thermodynamics pair naturally with Safran’s expertise in fan systems, nacelle integration, and aircraft-level systems engineering. Neither company is simply a subcontractor to the other — both are full technical and commercial partners in every sense of the term.

The RISE program will test that partnership more than any previous CFM program, simply because the technical challenges are greater and the stakes — for aviation’s climate commitments and for both companies’ long-term competitive positions — are higher. The extension of the partnership to 2050 signals that both GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines have chosen commitment over caution, and that confidence in each other’s capabilities runs deep enough to stake the next generation of commercial aviation on it.

For the airlines that will eventually operate RISE-powered aircraft, the practical implication is straightforward: they’ll be getting an engine backed by the combined engineering resources of two of the world’s most capable propulsion companies, built on a foundation of five decades of joint development, and designed from the ground up to meet the sustainability standards that regulators, passengers, and investors are increasingly demanding.

The question isn’t whether GE Aviation or Safran individually could have reached these targets alone. The evidence of five decades suggests the answer is almost certainly no — at least not at this pace, at this scale, and with this level of confidence. The CFM International model has consistently delivered more than either company achieves independently, and that dynamic is exactly why RISE represents the clearest and most credible path to sustainable narrowbody flight the aviation industry currently has.