A company based in this province has made a breakthrough in the aviation industry.

Duxion Motors has just completed a successful ground test for an electric jet engine. The company is looking to create an electric engine capable of reaching high speeds to help cut down emissions.

Jet-powered aircraft make up 2.5 per cent of global CO2 emissions.

Duxion Motors CEO, Rick Pilgrim, says it holds even more significance that this motor was developed in St. John’s.

He says in 1981, Dr. Azizur Rahman invented the first interior magnet motor, which was put in the Toyota Prius. He says the same lab where that motor was developed for cars, is the same lab where they conceptualized the motor for jets.