Rolls-Royce completes first tests of ‘pioneering’ greener aircraft engines
Rolls Royce has completed the first tests of its UltraFan demonstration aircraft engine at its factory in Derby, UK.
The tests were conducted using 100% renewable jet fuel (SAF), primarily from waste-based feedstocks, but the company is also exploring options for hybrid electric and hydrogen-powered options.
“The UltraFan demonstrator is a game changer.
UltraFan, which has been in the works for nearly a decade, is designed to demonstrate technologies that can provide greater fuel efficiency for both existing and future aircraft engines, reducing their emissions and increasing durability.
In particular, UltraFan’s technology is slated to offer a 25% fuel efficiency improvement over the company’s first-generation Trent engines, and a 10% efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB – one of the world’s most efficient engines for large aircraft in service.
Other key features of the demonstrator include carbon-titanium fan blades and composite housing; a new Advance3 core architecture that achieves maximum fuel efficiency; and a gear design that provides efficient power for future high thrust, high bypass ratio engines. In particular, the UltraFan power gearbox has reached 87,000 hp (64 MW) during testing – an industry first, according to Rolls-Royce.
UltraFan was not built as a standalone product to power any particular type of aircraft. Instead, the focus is on the flexibility and scalability of the technology. Accordingly, Rolls-Royce opted for a huge size (fan diameter of 140 inches), which allows it to be reduced in size according to customers’ requirements and to provide power solutions for two-shaft, three-shaft, direct-drive and gear-drive propulsion systems.
“The UltraFan demonstrator is a game changer – the technologies we are testing as part of this program have the potential to improve both today’s engines and tomorrow’s engines,” said Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls Royce. Combining more efficient gas turbine engines with SAF will be the “key” to meeting the industry target for net zero by 2050, he added.
In the short term, the company is considering transferring UltraFan’s technology to current Trent motors. In the long run, the demonstrator’s scalable 25,000 to 110,000 pounds of thrust could power both new narrow-body and wide-body aircraft expected in the 2030s.
“This breakthrough technology will help transition to a greener future for aviation, while attracting further investment into the UK aerospace industry, helping to grow the economy,” said Kemi Badenoch, UK Business and Trade Secretary.
