Delivering on our Sustainable Aviation Fuel commitments

All gas turbine manufacturers are committed to playing their part and, in 2021, Rolls-Royce pledged to ensure its in-production civil aerospace engines are compatible with 100% SAF by the end of 2023.

We’ve now completed those compatibility tests, both on the ground and in the air, which have covered the Trent 700, Trent 800, Trent 900, Trent 1000, Trent XWB-84, Trent XWB-97, Trent 7000, Pearl 700, Pearl 10, BR725 and Pearl 10X.

The final engine test took place on a BR710 engine at our facility in Canada

So far, we have found no technical issues that would act as an impediment to 100% SAF being used on our engines.

Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO, Rolls-Royce plc, said: "Becoming the first jet engine manufacturer to publicly confirm all our in-production engines for long-haul aircraft and business jets are compatible with 100% SAF, is an important milestone for both Rolls-Royce and the wider aviation industry. It's also further evidence of our commitment to becoming a net zero company by 2050 and supporting our customers to do the same."

Simon Burr, Group Director of Engineering, Technology and Safety, Rolls-Royce plc, said: “This is an important milestone, not just for Rolls-Royce, but also for the wider civil aerospace industry. We hope the success of these tests provides a level of technical validation that supports those who seek to invest in the production of 100% SAF going forward.”

In addition to proving in-production engine compatability, we have also supported other 100% SAF-related testing.

We are proud to be powering the world’s first 100% SAF transatlantic flight when a Trent 1000-powered Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 will fly from London to New York later this year.

Virgin Atlantic’s flight, sponsored by the UK government, will be fuelled by a 100% SAF made primarily from inedible oils and fats and plant sugars. The return flight will be on regular jet fuel, proving that the aircraft and engines are fuel agnostic.

We have also carried out the first run of our UltraFan technology demonstrator engine on 100% SAF at our Testbed 80 facility in Derby, UK.

“Regular” engine testing at our sites in Derby and Bristol in the UK and Dahlewitz in Germany is now also being carried out using a 10% SAF blend, with the SAF element derived primarily from waste-based sustainable feedstocks such as used cooking oils.

While we have proven the compatibility of 100% SAF with our in-service engines, we also recognise the challenges to making SAFs a viable option for our industry.

Alastair Hobday, Rolls-Royce Associate Fellow Fuels and Lubricants, said: “Whilst there are now eight industry-qualified SAF pathways that can be blended with conventional kerosene at up to 50% volume, there is still a huge capacity challenge. We know that current SAF production is less than 1% of global jet fuel demand.”

“We can only go some way to enabling more sustainable skies by proving our engine technology. We also need our industry and government partners to work with us and step up to support the production of SAF at scale.

Why is SAF important?

Aviation recognises it has a part to play in this energy transition and Sustainable Aviation Fuel has great potential to support this journey, as it is a “drop-in” fuel that can simply be used as an alternative to conventional fuel.

When the lifecycle of SAF is taken into consideration, then IATA estimates the net CO2 lifecycle emissions of unblended SAFs are up to 80% lower than conventional fuel.

Indeed, if we are to reach Net Zero flying by 2050 then we believe the combination of highly-efficient latest-generation gas turbines and their operation on SAF is likely to contribute around 80% of the solution.

We have also been active in other forms of propulsion that will provide alternative, complementary, solutions. We continue to be world leaders in the electrification of the aerospace industry and we are investing in a portfolio of power and propulsion solutions to revolutionise the way we travel in new disruptive urban and regional air mobility markets.

In November last year we set a new aviation milestone with the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen. The ground test was conducted on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power and proved that hydrogen has the potential to be a zero-carbon aviation fuel of the future.

Our 100% SAF testing so far

In-production engine compatibility programme

Trent 1000 ground test December 2020
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Derby, UK
Fuel – produced by World Energy, sourced by Shell Aviation and delivered by SkyNRG

Pearl 700 ground test Jan 2021
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Dahlewitz, Germany
Fuel - produced by World Energy, sourced by Shell Aviation and delivered by SkyNRG

Trent 1000 flight test (powering the Rolls-Royce Boeing 747 flying test bed) October 2021
Fuel – World Energy
Location – Tucson, Arizona, USA
Flight length – 3hr 54min

Trent XWB-84 flight test (powering an Airbus A350 aircraft as part of the ECLIF3 research programme) Nov 2021
Location – Toulouse, France
Fuel – Neste HEFA
Flight length – 3hr

Trent 900 flight test (powering an Airbus A380 aircraft) March 2022
Location – Toulouse, France
Fuel – Total Energies HEFA
Flight length – 3hr

Trent 800 ground test (on the Boeing 777 eco-demonstrator) October 2022
Location – Seattle, USA
Fuel – World Energy HEFA

Trent 700 on MRTT Voyager November 2022
Location – Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, UK
Fuel – Air bp HEFA

Pearl 10X ground test July 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Dahlewitz, Germany
Fuel – Air bp HEFA

Pearl 15 ground test August 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Dahlewitz, Germany
Fuel – Air bp HEFA

Trent 7000 ground test October 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Derby, UK
Fuel – Air bp HEFA

Trent XWB-97 ground test October 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Derby, UK
Fuel – Air bp HEFA

BR710 ground test November 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce test bed, Canada
Fuel – World Energy HEFA

Further 100% SAF testing

UltraFan technology demonstrator May 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Derby, UK
Fuel – Air bp HEFA

Trent 1000 ground test (in preparation for the Virgin Atlantic transatlantic challenge flight) July 2023
Location – Rolls-Royce testbeds, Derby, UK
Fuel – Air bp HEFA and Virent SAK