The University of Cambridge in the UK has partnered with Boeing to test the first aircraft powered by a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system.

Carried out at the Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton, the tests comprised a series of ‘hops’ along the runway and evaluation flights at a height of more than 1,500ft.

The first-of-its-kind demonstrator aircraft is claimed to use around 30% less fuel compared with an aircraft powered by petrol, and can recharge its batteries in-flight.

"Although hybrid cars have been available for more than a decade, what’s been holding back the development of hybrid or fully electric aircraft until now is battery technology."

The airliner features a four-stroke piston engine and an electric motor, which through the same drive pulley spin the propeller.

Engineers at Cambridge have developed the hybrid engine with funding support from Boeing.

During take-off and climb, the engine and motor power the plane but on reaching cruise height, the electric motor can be switched to generator mode to recharge the batteries or to motor assist mode, a principle used in a hybrid car.

University of Cambridge Department of Engineering lecturer Paul Robertson said: "Although hybrid cars have been available for more than a decade, what’s been holding back the development of hybrid or fully electric aircraft until now is battery technology.

"Until recently, they have been too heavy and didn’t have enough energy capacity.

"But with the advent of improved lithium-polymer batteries, similar to what you’d find in a laptop computer, hybrid aircraft, albeit at a small-scale, are now starting to become viable."

Researchers said that the Cambridge demonstrator is a major step in the development of fully-electric aircraft. However, more research is required to power commercial airliners with electric motors.