Canada to back Pratt & Whitney turboprop hybrid engine technology: Report

Canada is expected to announce government support for Pratt & Whitney to bring a hybrid engine to first flight, as the country eyes a broader role in developing new technologies to lower emissions from aviation, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The unspecified "co-investment" toward a demonstration flight of the hybrid engine for regional turboprops is part of a wider announcement for aerospace expected on Thursday, they said.

It would be Canada's latest support for the local branch of the U.S. engine maker, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp.

Pratt & Whitney, which dominates the turboprop market, has been working toward a flight demonstration of an integrated hybrid engine. Testing is to be performed on a De Havilland Canada Dash-8 100 turboprop.

Pratt, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd, and a spokesman for Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne declined comment. Sources declined to be identified as the information is not public.

Justin Trudeau's Liberal government in April outlined C$1.75 billion ($1.41 billion) for aerospace, while boosting its Net Zero Accelerator initiative, which helps large emitters reduce their carbon footprint, to C$8 billion.