Safran Aircraft Engines will coordinate the demonstration of new open fan engine technologies within the framework of the EU-led Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking project Open Fan for Environmental Low Impact of Aviation (OFELIA) the French engine maker confirmed Friday. Safran will work with 26 industry European key partners, including Airbus, Avio Aero, and GKN Aerospace, as well as research labs such as the French national aerospace research center ONERA and academics from several countries across Europe. The OFELIA consortium expects to receive €100 million in European funding from Clean Aviation.
OFELIA’s plans to demonstrate the efficiency benefits of an open fan architecture to address the needs of future short- and medium-range aircraft by about 2035. The program partners aim for a 20 percent reduction of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared with conventional narrowbodies. Under Clean Aviation’s OFELIA initiative, Safran Aircraft Engines and its partners expect to develop a set of technologies to TRL 5 for low-pressure systems, high-pressure core, and advanced systems including hybridization for ground and flight test demonstrations with an Airbus A380 powered by an open fan by the middle of this decade. The consortium also aims to ensure full compatibility of the architecture with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and hydrogen.
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