Pratt & Whitney has successfully tested their GTF Advantage engine configuration with 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Testing started on March 1st, 2022, at the company’s West Palm Beach, Florida facility.
On Tuesday (March 15, 2022), Pratt & Whitney announced that they have successfully completed GTF Advantage engine configuration testing using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Testing started on March 1st at the company’s facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, marking a key milestone on the journey to 100 percent SAF operation of GTF-powered aircraft. The test was also a key element of an extensive development program to ready the GTF Advantage for entry into service in 2024, with validation of the engine’s performance on 100 percent SAF in thrust transients, starting and operability.
In today’s announcment, Pratt & Whitney’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Graham Webb, said,
“We’re thrilled to have successfully tested the GTF Advantage engine on unblended SAF. 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. Operation on 100 percent 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.”
Also commenting on the successful GTF Advantage SAF testing, Pratt & Whitney’s Technical Fellow for Sustainable Propulsion, Sean Bradshaw, said,
“Sustainable aviation fuels are central to the challenge of decarbonizing aviation and reaching our industry’s net zero goal. Validating and certifying the GTF Advantage engine on 100 percent SAF will ensure this engine’s ability to deliver sustainable propulsion to our customers over many decades of service. We remain dedicated to working with the industry on creating a viable path for SAF development, production and distribution.”
For the GTF Advantage testing, Pratt & Whitney used 100 percent Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK) fuel acquired from World Energy. HEFA-SPK is a specific type of hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel used in aviation and is considered a leading alternative replacement for traditional jet fuel by the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), due to the sustainability of its feedstock.
Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engine is the world’s most efficient and sustainable single-aisle aircraft engine, delivering up to a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions versus previous generation engines. Since entering service in 2016, GTF engines have saved over 600 million gallons (two billion liters) of fuel and more than six million metric tonnes of CO2.
A division of Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE: RTX), Pratt & Whitney is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) for commercial, military, regional, business and general aviation aircraft. Pratt & Whitney is known for their innovative technologies such as the Geared Turbofan (GTF) commercial aircraft engine and the PW800 business jet engine.
Source: Pratt & Whitney