Rolls-Royce’s Yuri Jongkind discusses a range of game-changing' technologies set to enable a pathway to net zero flight and Advanced Air Mobility

Rolls-Royce’s Business development Director, Yuri Jongkind, said, “UltraFan is the largest in the world demonstrator aero engine today. It is completely new technology that is focused on improving fuel efficiency. It aims to be 25 per cent more fuel-efficient which results in 40 per cent less pollutants (NoX), and 35 per cent less noise. UltraFan is ready to run on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from day one of service.

“The aviation sector itself accounts for about 2 per cent of the total emissions globally. It's considered a hard-to-abate sector so the transition to net zero is either technologically or financially difficult. And that's where SAF is playing a key role.

“SAF from vegetable or waste oil (HVO) is a great fuel. However, it is not available in the volumes we would like to see and it's even more difficult to scale. So, in the longer term, I expect that we will produce SAF with what they call PtL, or power-to-liquid process, which is basically a synthetic hydrogen fuel. This is the type of aviation fuel that is able to scale and really get us towards net-zero.

“Today, there's hardly any synthetic SAF available. What we need are really stimulating policies

to drive the initial investment to build at-scale production capacity and to accelerate economies-of-scale, driving the costs of SAF down. 

“SAF capacity is likely to double over the next few years, but that's not enough to bring aviation to net-zero. A further significant ramp-up is required up to and beyond 2030. To make sure technology is an enabler, all Rolls-Royce aviation engines currently in production will be compatible with 100% SAF this year.

“To produce synthetic SAF with clean power in large volumes, Rolls-Royce has pioneered Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs. These are small nuclear power plants capable of delivering the clean energy that the PtL process requires, thus offering industry a net-zero production solution,” Jongkind said. 

“Today, there's a massive opportunity [for the aviation industry] with a big wave of investments being made in integrated innovations, such as SMRs and related enabling technologies.  We see a huge uptake and capital flowing into sustainable solutions. That's an opportunity which needs to be supported by the regulations and the stimulus policies I mentioned, along with technology partnerships.

“I think for airframers, some of the biggest companies we work with today, they are looking into both understanding what scalability of SAF and other technologies to power aviation means, and what the societal pick-up rate can be. Rolls-Royce is making efforts in both technologies as well as public acceptance.

“Today, the aviation sector’s biggest risk is the risk of not acting and not transitioning. In our view, this could lead to reputational exposure for the whole sector. Those costs might be passed on to end consumers leading to a reduction of access to global travel for an increasing world-wide population,” said the aero-industry leader. 

Returning to what UltraFan means and the benefits that the test bed process offers, Rolls-Royce says it has made substantial improvements in four areas towards improving engine efficiency and reducing emissions. Key improvements are made in the fan blades, the gearbox, the combustion system, and the core design of the turbine.

Jongkind said: “We applied innovative materials for the fan blades. High -tech, carbon composites with a titanium leading edge. That’s the edge which cuts into the air and needs to be more resilient and more resistant. 

“By doing this, having a carbon composite together with titanium, we reduced the weight and consequentially improved the fuel consumption. This engine has been extensively tested so these new materials and designs can be deployed to applications across the industry,” he said.  

Rolls-Royce is pioneering the electrification of flight

Next to UltraFan technology, Rolls-Royce develops a range of technologies for the fast-emerging Advanced Air Mobility, or “AAM” sector.

This electrically powered aviation market is set to accelerate the global transition for sustainable, on-demand passenger and air cargo transport. AAM improves accessibility to remote locations and [offers] more efficient metropolitan transportation options (alleviating urban traffic congestion), the AAM market supports the next generation of environmentally friendly, efficient air transportation.

Jongkind said: “Electrically powered aviation allows a fast and cost-effective way to travel. The market is likely to be split between passenger and cargo transport, the latter estimated to be 60 per cent by 2035.

“Cargo is extremely important for the initial take-up rate and future market share.  Rolls-Royce not only provides power and propulsion systems to AAM aircraft, but also to ground-based infrastructure, so called Vertiports, to charge these aircraft.

“The current range of eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles) is anticipated to around 50 kilometres suitable for urban use-cases, but we will see this scaling up steadily over the next few years. After 2026, AAM will also see regional travel, increasing the distances which people can be flown by electrically powered aircraft. The first eVTOL aircraft are set to be certified next year, but the real take-off for certification is from 2026 onwards. 

“Meanwhile, one of the main challenges is public acceptance. We want to draw the attention to electrically powered flight and improve the perception of AAM and its safety, using efforts such as the our world-record breaking fastest electric flight – the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Innovation.

“For electrically powered flight to become accepted as a regular mode of air travel, Rolls-Royce supports awareness and education on aspects of technology which enhance its safety. One example is that electric motors tend to have far fewer rotating parts and the engines are less complex compared to the traditional turbines and turboprops used in aviation. So, some of the safety aspects that we have to deal with in traditional engines will become much simpler in design,” said Jongkind. 

Meanwhile Rolls-Royce is committed to achieving net zero emissions across its operations by 2030 and to lead the aviation industry’s net zero targets by 2050. The innovations delivered by UltraFan and its work on electrically powered flight are critical features in this strategy.