Considering the worldwide drastic impacts of climate change, scientists are working to find greener alternatives to dirty jet fuel.
Rolls-Royce is putting in the best of efforts to achieve the goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. So recently Rolls-Royce conducted their first tests of a 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in small commercial business jets.
“This test demonstrates once again that our current engines for large civil and business jet applications can operate with 100% SAF as a full ‘drop-in’ option, laying the groundwork for moving this type of fuel towards certification,” the company said. “At present, SAF is only certified for blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel and can be used on all current Rolls-Royce engines.”
The company used its Pearl 700 engine developed for the Gulfstream G700 for the tests. Tests were conducted at Rolls-Royce’s facility in Dahlewitz, Germany.
The SAF used in the Pearl 700 tests was produced by World Energy in Paramount, California. According to Rolls-Royce, the new fuel can reduce life-cycle carbon dioxide emissions by over 75 percent. With further refinements, it can even give better results.
“Sustainable aviation fuels have the potential to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of our engines and combining this potential with the extraordinary performance of our Pearl engine family brings us another important step closer to enabling our customers to achieve net zero carbon emissions,” says Dr. Joerg Au, Chief Engineer of Business Aviation and Engineering Director Rolls-Royce Deutschland.”
