Jet Zero strategy – one year on

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Jet Zero strategy – one year on

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Thursday 20 July 2023 10:00 AM

Jet Zero strategy – one year on

It has been one year since the launch of the Jet Zero strategy, which sets out how the UK will achieve net zero aviation by 2050.

It focuses on the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel whilst maximising the opportunities that decarbonisation can bring to the UK.

We are proud to be part of the Jet Zero Council and committed to play a leading role in enabling the sectors in which we operate reach net zero by 2050. As we celebrate the one-year anniversary, we look back on the year and what we have contributed to this continuous journey.

Our technology demonstrator, UltraFan

In the past year we have announced the build, completion, and successful test of our technology demonstrator, UltraFan. It’s the first time in 54 years that we have tested a brand-new engine architecture and is proof of what can be achieved when industry and Governments work together.

Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current and future aero-engines. UltraFan delivers a 10% efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, which is already the world’s most efficient large aero engine in service.

In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from the UltraFan development programme to current Trent engines, providing our customers with even greater availability, reliability, and efficiency.

In the longer term, UltraFan’s scalable technology from ~25,000-110,000lb thrust offers the potential to power new narrowbody and widebody aircraft anticipated in the 2030s.

A new world record with hydrogen

We set a new aviation milestone with the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen in November last year.

The ground test was conducted on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power. It marks a major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero carbon aviation fuel of the future and is a key proof point in our decarbonisation strategy.

Our continuous journey to 100% SAF compatibility by the end of 2023

Another fundamental element to a net zero future is ensuring gas turbine engines – the only energy-dense method of transporting large numbers of people at speed – can run on 100% SAF, taking the industry beyond the current mandate that allows 50% SAF and 50% traditional jet fuel blends. By the end of 2023, all our Trent and Business Aviation commercial aero engine types will be proven compatible with 100% SAF.

We’ve made great strides on the ground and in the air by testing our Trent and Pearl engines – Trent 1000 and Pearl 700 on ground rigs and Trent XWB, Trent 900 and Trent 1000 in the air – on 100% SAF. So far, we have found no technical issues that would act as an impediment to 100% SAF being used on our engines.

Our programme will be completed this year with plans to test on the BR710, Pearl 15 and Trent XWB-97 engines. In addition, we are proud to be powering the world’s first net zero transatlantic flight when a Trent 1000-powered Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 will fly from London to New York on 100% SAF later this year.

Boeing Short Inlet

Over the years, engineers have understood the efficiency benefit of engines slowly moving ever-larger volumes of air behind them. This is known as the bypass ratio – the proportion of air that passes only through the fan stage rather than through the core – and the drive to increase that figure has caused the front fan to get ever bigger.

This drive for efficiency has also been a success story in terms of reduced emissions and improved sustainability. That is particularly important in a world where long-distance air travel will still require gas turbine technology for decades to come.

But that progress brings its own challenges: a bigger fan needs a bigger nacelle and that means more weight and drag, removing some of those much-valued efficiency gains.

Working with Boeing under the FAA’s CLEEN (Continuous Lower Energy Emissions and Noise) programme we’ve been testing an inlet that is shorter, and therefore lighter. Our research, which has included flight tests on the Rolls-Royce Boeing 747 Flying Test Bed using a Trent 1000 engine, have shown the potential for fuel savings of about 0.5%.

The flights, which totalled almost 7.5 hours included takeoff, cruise and high-angle-of-attack operations to ensure aerodynamic performance met predicted performance levels. The inlet has potential to be part of any future requirement for a production version of UltraFan, the Rolls-Royce engine technology demonstrator that ran for the first time earlier this year.

The One Year On highlights the progress and achievements that have been made since the launch of the Jet Zero Strategy, and the next steps to deliver net zero aviation by 2050. The document can be read in full, here.