Pratt & Whitney reported a successful test of its GTF Advantage engine configuration using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The test was completed March 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida, as part of a development program to bring the GTF Advantage into service by 2024. P&W described it as an important step toward “100% SAF operation of GTF-powered aircraft.”
SAF is jet fuel produced from waste oils derived from biological sources (e.g., cooking oil, other non-palm waste oils from plants, agricultural residue, or non-fossil CO2), or solid waste from homes or businesses (e.g., packaging, paper, textiles, food waste.) Currently, commercial aircraft are certified to operate on a maximum of 50% SAF blended with conventional jet fuel, though aircraft and jet-engine manufacturers have made commitments to increase the effective applicability of the alternative fuel.
Last fall, Pratt & Whitney agreed to collaborate with Embraer SA for integrated ground and flight tests for 100% SAF in an E195-E2 aircraft powered by a P&W geared turbofan engine. Numerous other SAF tests are underway by Airbus, Boeing, GE Aviation, and Rolls-Royce to establish the capabilities and needs of current technologies to reduce carbon emissions in commercial aviation.
The GTF Advantage is a new variant of P&W’s PW1100G geared turbofan engine under development for the Airbus A320neo aircraft, to be introduced commercially in 2024. In December 2021, Pratt & Whitney reported GTF Advantage will offer 1% more fuel efficiency, more durability and more thrust than existing GTF models, thanks to design revisions, more durable coatings, and more damage-resistant blisk rotors.
“The GTF Advantage represents the greenest, lowest emission engine in the industry, and it is now demonstrating full operational capability for the greenest aviation fuels of today and tomorrow,” according to Graham Webb, chief sustainability officer at Pratt & Whitney. “Operation on 100%SAF is a key component of the industry’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the completion of these tests get us closer to that goal.”
