Rolls-Royce has completed building its UltraFan technology demonstrator, so it’s ready for testing. This was a major milestone in the demo engine program being moved from the build shop to the Testbed 80 test bed in Derby, England, where it was assembled in preparation for testing. The company expects the first test of the demonstrator to take place early next year and it will run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

Chris Cholerton, President of Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, said: “Seeing the UltraFan demonstrators assemble and prepare for testing on Testbed 80 was a great way to end the year. We’ve all been waiting for this moment, which is an important milestone for the program and for the team that has been working on it. The next stage is to see UltraFan operate for the first time on 100% sustainable aviation fuel by 2023.demonstrating that the technology is ready to support more sustainable flights in the future.”

Combining an entirely new engine design with a suite of technologies to support sustainable air travel for decades to come, the demonstrator The UltraFan has a fan diameter of 140 inches and offers a 25% boost. in fuel efficiency compared to the first generation Trent engines.

UltraFan offers a variety of sustainability solutions that will support the journey towards net-zero flying. In the short term, there is an option to transfer technology from the UltraFan development program to current Trent engines for greater fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. in the long run, UltraFan scalable technology offers the potential to further increase the fuel efficiency of narrow and wide body aircraft by up to 10%.

Testbed 80, the world’s largest and smartest test bed, it was designed and built specifically to accommodate the size and technical complexity of the UltraFan demonstrator. It opened in 2020 and has completed hours of experimental engine testing.

The UltraFan technology demonstration program has received support from the UK Institute of Aerospace Technology and Innovate UK, the EU’s Clean Sky program plus LuFo and the State of Brandenburg in Germany.