After introducing the
General Electric H80 in 2010 to improve the
Walter M601, GE started analyzing its competition and devised a clean-design engine in 2014, then was selected for the
Cessna Denali competition. In September 2015, General Electric created a European turboprop development center, after the
US-Exim Bank closure in June, investing over $400 million and creating 500 to 1,000 jobs. The engine was announced on 16 November 2015 at the
National Business Aviation Association's annual tradeshow. As of 2021, the Avio Aero website does not list any facility in Warsaw. It was designed by GE in Europe, and for the power and gas generator turbine, and the high pressure compressor, by the Engineering Design Center in Warsaw, an alliance between General Electric Company Polska and the
Warsaw Institute of Aviation. In October 2017, GE received 85% of the parts, on track to deliver the first test engine by the end of the year. At this time, the axial-centrifugal compressor vehicle - stator, rotor and cold-section assemblies - was tested in
Munich to validate its efficiency, performance and operability.
Testing After two years of development, it completed its first test run in Prague on December 22, 2017. By May 2019, test engines ran up to in an altitude chamber and over 1,000 h, simulating three years of operations, while the FADEC ran 300 h in the Denali
iron bird. By October 2019, over 1,000 engine cycles logged 1,600h of tests: 1,200h in test cells and 400h in compressor rigs. Altitude, endurance, vibration, durability and ingestion testing were complete, as integrated propeller controls tests and high-pressure compressor and gas generator turbine overspeed tests. New icing tests requirements pushed back the first engine delivery to 2020, and Beechcraft Denali first flight even further. Five engines were assembled by then, and two other should be completed before 2019 ends. First flight test aboard a
King Air was delayed until spring 2020 and certification for autumn 2021, after a 18-month campaign, due to new FAA testing requirements, including icing tests. By July 2021, 16 engines had been produced and completed 2,500h of operation; as 30% of Catalyst’s certification tests were completed including some icing tests. The Catalyst made its first flight on a King Air testbed on September 30, 2021 in the hand of BBA Chief Test Pilot Sigismond Monnet and Lead Flight Test Engineer Alessandro Ramazzotti. On November 22, the Denali made its first flight with a Catalyst engine, targeting a 2025 certification. In May 2023, Denali certification was pushed back to 2025 as the engine certification was delayed to 2024 by more-stringent standards like icing and engine ingestion requirements, having completed 16 of 22 planned engine certification tests and 26 of 37 component certification tests, hot-weather tests and cold-temperature trials. In February 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration granted its certification after more than 8,000h of tests, clearing the Denali for a 2026 introduction as the three prototypes gathered over 2,700 flight hours in 1,100 flights.
Market The GE Catalyst is intended to cover the market between the sub
General Electric H80 and the CT7. It is designed to compete with the
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 which has led the small turboprop market for 50 years with over 51,000 units produced. The Catalyst has been selected to power the new Beechcraft Denali single engine turboprop aircraft, seating up to 12 passengers at over for . GE plans to invest up to $1 billion in the project, including $400 million for a manufacturing center in Europe. ==Design==