Based on a true story
Boeing has been researching hybrid planes for a long time. It's pretty much the same idea as hybrid cars - narrowing the operating range of a fossil fuel engine to where it's most efficient and making up the difference with an electric system. A bonus is that short trips have a higher percentage of their time on battery power. Being able to put little electric engines anywhere can help performance too.
The question is why Boeing is handing over development to another company rather than doing it themselves. It seems like an attempt to avoid risk.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
