Engines
Engine Makers Explore Several Paths to Decarbonization
R&D work chases short-term improvement and a quantum leap for the 2030s
Pratt & Whitney hybrid-electric propulsion technology demonstrator
RTX group companies Pratt & Whitney and Collins are both involved in preparations to start flight testing a hybrid-electric propulsion system for regional airliners.

With aircraft engine makers at the vanguard of efforts to decarbonize air transport, the next 10 years or so will see the biggest breakthroughs in propulsion technology since the dawn of the jet age. The big three turbofan manufacturers­—CFM International, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce—are investing heavily in multistage work that starts with standardizing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and progresses towards electric and hydrogen propulsion.

Pratt & Whitney has begun pursuing several paths to introducing cleaner and more efficient engines between now and 2050. According to Frank Preli, the U.S. group’s vice president for advanced propulsion and materials technologies, the objective centers not just on cutting carbon dioxide, but other damaging emissions as well, including nitrogen oxides (NOx).