Rolls-Royce has finished the construction of its
UltraFan engine technology demonstrator.
The demonstrator engine has since been transported
from the build workshop and into Testbed 80 in Derby, England where it
was mounted in preparation for testing which is scheduled to
commence early
next year using 100% Sustainable Aviation
Fuel (SAF).
“Seeing the UltraFan demonstrator come together
and getting ready for test in Testbed 80 is a great way to end the
year,” said Chris Cholerton, President of Rolls-Royce Civil
Aerospace. “We have all been waiting for this moment, which is such an
important milestone for the programme and for the team who have
worked on it. The next stage will be to see UltraFan run for the
first time on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel in 2023, proving the
technology is ready to support more sustainable flight in the
future.”
Combining a brand new engine design with a suite
of technologies designed to support sustainable air travel for decades to
come, the UltraFan demonstrator has a fan diameter of 140 inches
and offers a 25% fuel efficiency improvement compared with the
first generation of Trent engine.
How will UltraFan support the airline industry’s
journey to net zero aviation?
– In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from
the UltraFan development programme to current Trent engines to
deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reductions in emissions; and
– In
the longer term, UltraFan’s scalable technology from
~25,000-110,000lb thrust delivers the potential to further improve
fuel efficiency of both narrowbody and widebody aircraft by up to
10 per cent.
Testbed 80 was designed and built especially to accommodate the size
and technical complexity of the UltraFan demonstrator. It was
opened in 2020 and has already completed many hours of
experimental engine testing.
The UltraFan technology demonstrator programme has
been supported by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute and
Innovate UK, the EU’s Clean Sky programmes plus LuFo and the State
of Brandenburg in Germany.
