Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Collins Aerospace is a prominent aerospace and defense company specializing in the development and manufacture of advanced technology solutions. They offer a wide range of products and services, including avionics, aircraft interiors, mission systems, and space systems. 

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 &amp; 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 &amp; 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).
In the near term, the company remains focused on making the GTF Advantage version of its geared turbofan available for the A320neo airliner. The engine would deliver an additional 1 percent in fuel efficiency compared with the current GTF, increasing to 17 percent its performance margin over earlier engines like the V2500.
<h2>RTX Group Pushes for Hybrid-Electric Advances</h2>
Beyond that, Pratt &amp; Whitney, which is part of the RTX technology group, continues work on a hybrid-electric technology demonstrator it aims to start flight testing early next year in Canada. The powertrain will combine a 1-megawatt electric motor developed by sister company Collins with a 1-megawatt engine to achieve a 30 percent improvement in energy performance on a mission basis. Last month, Pratt &amp; Whitney announced the development of a mobile charging unit to support the 1,500-volt batteries that Swiss firm H55 has committed for the project.
Under a separate project called SWITCH, which is supported by the European Union's Clean Aviation initiative, RTX is developing a hybrid-electric propulsion system for Pratt &amp; Whitney's geared turbofan family. This could be used for future narrowbody airliners.
“We are talking about achieving five percent of the thrust capability using electric motors on each of the engines,” Preli told AIN. “This will enable us to alter the cycle by taking energy from one or both [of the electric motors or generators], which gives us very interesting capabilities so that we don’t have to completely rely on aerodynamic or thermodynamic cycles. The electric power can be used for taxiing, for instance, and to manage surge margins in the engine as you can separately change the high compressor and low compressor rotational speeds using the two motor generators.”
The Grid, a new Collins-operated R&amp;D center in Rockford, Illinois, plays a key role in the work. As an indicator of the scale of progress being made, Preli explained that the 1-megawatt generator developed for the RTX Hybrid Electric Flight Demonstrator will deliver four times the power and twice the voltage, with half the heat loss and weight as the 250-kilowatt generator developed a decade ago to provide the electrical power for Boeing’s 787 widebody.&nbsp;
While not excluding the possibility of hydrogen's contribution, Pratt &amp; Whitney views that mode of propulsion as a longer-term play in air transport. “We don’t expect hydrogen to be widely available for some time, and [to develop hydrogen propulsion systems] there are a lot of basic technologies that need to be developed first,” Preli said. “There are ongoing studies with airframers for hydrogen propulsion concepts, and we’re working very closely on the integration [of hydrogen engines and the aircraft].”
Pratt &amp; Whitney is also looking at two concepts to address different types of emissions from engine combustors, using water reclamation and steam injection in a hydrogen engine that could cut NOx emissions by 80 percent. “You can also get higher efficiency with the water cycle because you can operate the engine at a higher operating pressure ratio without an increase in temperature, which would limit materials durability,” Preli explained.
<h2>CFM Banks on Rise Engine to Lower Carbon</h2>
By mid-2025, CFM expects to start flight testing a technology demonstrator for its Rise&nbsp;open fan engine. The joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran targets at least a 20 percent reduction in fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions compared with today’s Leap engines in time to support new narrowbody airliners from the likes of Airbus and Boeing.
In January, Safran Aircraft Engines and France's Onera aerospace research agency began wind tunnel tests with the EcoEngine one-fifth scale open fan demonstrator. The partners aim to mature the aerodynamics and acoustics of the fan module by exposing it to real-world wind speeds and validating the fan blade design.
Since February 2022, CFM and Airbus have worked on a hydrogen demonstration program with the aim of flight testing a propulsion system on an A380 by the middle of this decade. This work contributes to Airbus’s ZeroE program, which centers on the development of a hydrogen-powered airliner able to carry around 200 people up to 2,000 nm by 2035.
The demonstrator will involve the modification of a GE Passport business jet engine to run on hydrogen. The design calls for mounting the engine on the rear fuselage of a flying testbed.
<h2>Rolls-Royce Expects UltraFan to Cut Fuel Burn</h2>
At its Derby, UK, headquarters, Rolls-Royce continues testing the UltraFan technology it expects will deliver a 25 percent reduction in fuel burn when integrated with its Trent family of turbofans. The manufacturer plans to introduce a family of two-shaft, three-shaft, direct-drive, and geared propulsion systems ranging in thrust from 25,000 and 110,000 pounds for narrowbody and widebody airliners that could enter service in the 2030s. Working as part of the European Union-backed Clean Aviation program, the engine company expects to expand bypass ratios to improve the energy efficiency of turbofans through changes in architecture, such as shortening inlets.
The group’s Bristol facility also is working on what it calls micro-hybridization, integrating an electric starter generator with a smaller engine. The approach involves making use of electrical power during some phases of flight to supplement improvements in energy efficiency.
In September 2023, Rolls-Royce and partners conducted a ground test in which they ran a Pearl 700 business jet engine on 100 percent hydrogen fuel. The work, supported by the UK’s Loughborough University and German aerospace research agency DLR, forms part of longer-term efforts to develop a hydrogen combustion engine for future narrowbody aircraft.
In late November, Rolls-Royce announced its intention to seek a buyer for the electrical division involved in developing battery-electric propulsion systems for new aircraft such as the Vertical Aerospace eVTOL model.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

Pratt & Whitney, CFM, and Rolls-Royce Explore Paths to Decarbonization

R&D work chases short-term improvement and a quantum leap for the 2030s

Engine manufacturers have turned their attention to sustainable aviation fuels, improved turbofan technology, hybrid-electric propulsion, and hydrogen.

Engine Makers Explore Several Paths to Decarbonization

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Hydrogen-electric six-seater aircraft is targeted for 2028 service entry

ZeroAvia To Deliver Electric Propulsion for Jetcruzer 500E

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Approval process took four years and established the European agency's special condition

EASA Certifies Safran's 125-Kilowatt EngineUs 100 Electric Motor

Hanneke Weitering

ZeroAvia received a G-1 issue paper for the electric propulsion system

FAA Approves ZeroAvia’s Certification Basis for Electric Propulsion System

Kerry Lynch

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Results of ARPA-e program showed 35% more efficiency and nearly elimination of nitrogen oxides

Pratt & Whitney Hydrogen Engine Project Shows Promise of Steam Injection

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

SiCore cells offer rapid energy delivery without compromising on endurance

Amprius Says 'SiCore' Batteries Will Boost eVTOL Aircraft Performance

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

European approval follows Transport Canada and FAA nods in July 2024

EASA OKs PW545D Turbofan for Cessna Citation Ascend

AmyWilder

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

Singapore Airshow 2024

In this article

Boeing 737 Series

Airbus A320 Series

Safran

Collins Aerospace

CFM

Pratt & Whitney

More In Engines

ZeroAvia To Deliver Electric Propulsion for Jetcruzer 500E

Hydrogen-electric six-seater aircraft is targeted for 2028 service entry

EASA Certifies Safran's 125-Kilowatt EngineUs 100 Electric Motor

Approval process took four years and established the European agency's special condition

FAA Approves ZeroAvia’s Certification Basis for Electric Propulsion System

ZeroAvia received a G-1 issue paper for the electric propulsion system

Pratt & Whitney Hydrogen Engine Project Shows Promise of Steam Injection

Results of ARPA-e program showed 35% more efficiency and nearly elimination of nitrogen oxides

Amprius Says 'SiCore' Batteries Will Boost eVTOL Aircraft Performance

SiCore cells offer rapid energy delivery without compromising on endurance

EASA OKs PW545D Turbofan for Cessna Citation Ascend

European approval follows Transport Canada and FAA nods in July 2024

PBS Velka Bites Celebrates 1,500th APU Produced

APU provides power options for helicopter and airplanes

Airbus Taps BAE For Micro-Hybridization Energy Storage

Concept involves "supporting role" for batteries during some operational phases

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN