Rolls-Royce Signs Agreement to Use 10% SAF when Testing Engines

by Jake Hardiman (Simple Flying) ... UK-based engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has committed to a more sustainable operational future at the company by penning a deal with petroleum giants Air bp. As part of the agreement, Rolls-Royce will use a 10% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend in future engine testing. This will take place at three European sites.

Looking to set a wider example
As announced by the company today, Rolls-Royce has pledged for its future engine tests to run on a 10% blend of sustainable aviation fuel. The deal is part of a wider sustainability effort at the company, and it hopes that the move will set a precedent for other aerospace brands to follow.

This will eventually amount to the usage of some three million liters of SAF per year during the company's engine tests.

The company confirmed in a statement released today that it "is derived primarily from waste-based sustainable feedstocks such as used cooking oils."

Having formulated this aspect, Air bp will then mix it with its traditional aviation fuel.

A 100% blend for one engine
The engine testing facilities that the agreement concerns are located across Europe, in both Germany (Dahlewitz) and the UK (Bristol and Derby). The latter of these is home to a particularly exciting project as far as sustainability at Rolls-Royce is concerned. Discussing a new demonstrator engine, Cholterton states:

“I will be proud and excited to see the UltraFan on our state-of-the-art testbed running for the first time on 100% SAF, creating a new chapter in engineering excellence and sustainable aviation history.” READ MORE