HyFlux Energy
Systems Architecture · Technology Roadmap

Lifecycle of Aircraft Engine Repurposing for 100 MW AI Data Centres

From commercial aviation to high-density digital infrastructure
Engine
Campus
—
Operating
—
Standby (N+1)
—
Installed
—
Efficiency
—
Genset mass
01Aircraft Retirement Retiring narrowbodies release a large, standardised stock of mature cores with certified provenance.
A320 · 737NG · 737 MAX
≈ 6 airframes retired
→
12 engines removed
CFM56 · 2 per aircraft
→
MRO intake
strip & inspect
→
Engine inspection
borescope · records
→
Remaining-life assessment
cycles vs limits
→
Power-conversion candidate
core reused, not scrapped
Installed base · > 22,000 CFM56 engines produced worldwide — the largest standardised gas-generator fleet in history.
02Engine Conversion Strip the propulsor, keep the gas generator. A free power turbine drives the electrical machine.
fan — removed LP spool — removed Core compressor Combustor HP turbine Free power turbine HTS generator superconducting SS rectifier HVDC bus Retain: core compressor · combustor · HP turbine | Remove: fan · LP spool | Add: free power turbine → generator → rectifier → HVDC
Baseline

Conventional conversion

Aircraft core
Free power turbine
Conventional generator + gearbox
AC grid (transformer + switchgear)
HyFlux future

Superconducting, direct-to-DC

Aircraft core
Free power turbine
Superconducting (HTS) generator — cryo-cooled
Direct DC → AI data centre
Lower lossesHigher efficiency Higher power densityHydrogen-ready
03100 MW Power Plant · N+1 Modular, redundant, maintainable without shutdown. Select engine & campus above to resize live.
COMMON DC BUS
Power electronics
HVDC ring
→
AI servers
GPU clusters
→
Cooling
liquid / heat recovery
→
Battery / UPS
ride-through
→
Grid
import / export
100 MW
Continuous (operating)
125 MW
Installed capacity
4 + 1
N+1 redundancy · maintain without shutdown
04Fuel & Technology Evolution A staged path from today's gas-fired retrofit to a fully superconducting, native-DC hydrogen campus.
T0
Natural gas
retrofit, today
T1
Dual fuel
gas + H₂ blend
T2
100% Hydrogen
zero-carbon combustion
T3
Liquid hydrogen
LH₂ supply + storage
T4
Cryogenic cooling
LH₂ cold sink
T5
Superconducting generator
HTS, high density
T6
SMES
ride-through buffer
T7
Native DC campus
transformer-free
05Circular Lifecycle A closed material loop: aviation → power → overhaul → recovery → new manufacture → aviation.
Circular Economy
~20 years second-life service in power generation before major overhaul.
Overhaul → component recycling → materials recovery (Ni superalloys, Ti) → new engine manufacture.
Back to aviation — the same alloys re-enter the propulsion supply chain.
06Architecture Comparison & Campus Infrastructure
AttributeFTAI / conventionalHyFlux vision
EngineCFM56CFM56 or Trent 500
Unit rating25 MW25–40 MW
FuelNatural gasHydrogen (LH₂-ready)
GeneratorConventional ACSuperconducting (HTS)
DistributionAC grid + transformerDirect HVDC
CoolingConventionalCryogenic (LH₂ cold sink)
Storage / ride-throughBatterySMES + battery
OperationsConventional data centreDigital twin + AI optimisation
HVDC ring
campus backbone
UPS
clean switchover
Battery
short-duration
Grid tie
import / export
Solar
daytime offset
Fuel cells
DC-native trim
Hydrogen storage
LH₂ / GH₂
Cooling towers
heat rejection
AI cluster
GPU compute
Networking
fabric / optics
Heat recovery
turbine + server heat
District heating
export offtake
SMR
future firm baseload
SMES
future ride-through