ROTOR PRO: WHAT DOES THE LONG-TERM MAP TO DECARBONIZATION LOOK LIKE FOR HELICOPTER ENGINE OEMS?


Nico Chabée: Using less of any fuel, whether it’s traditional Jet A, SAF, battery power, or hydrogen, will always be the goal.


At the OEM level, hybridization offers some interesting trade-offs for twin-engine helicopters, where there is a potential to resize the power plant for improved cruise efficiency and supplement with electric power to cater for the OEI scenarios. For example, in 2023 Pratt & Whitney Canada successfully conducted a 100% SAF flight test with PW127M engines on a Braathens Regional Airlines’ ATR 72-600 aircraft.


At the customer level, one of our long-term customers is looking for more immediate results through the use of SAF. ADAC Luftrettung, a German air rescue operator, is in the process of extending SAF usage to its fleet of P&WC-powered helicopters. In late 2021, ADAC announced its plan to operate using SAF at blends of 30% to 40% over the course of 36 months. The program will set one of the most extensive operational SAF usage cases for the sector.


ROTOR PRO: HOW DO YOU EXPECT THE TRANSITION TO GREENER HELICOPTER ENGINE TECHNOLOGY TO UNFOLD OVER TIME? TO WHAT TECH WILL OEMS BE TRANSITIONING TO BECOME MORE FUEL EFFICIENT AND REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS IN THE FUTURE, SUCH AS SAF, ELECTRIC, HYDROGEN?


Nico Chabée: Realistically, from a rotorcraft standpoint, it may be a step evolution that includes/requires all of the above, with 50% blended SAF being the first, closely followed by Jet X or 100% SAF.


The introduction of mild electrification will also appear in parallel, with limited mission enhancements, which will enhance takeoff and safety (autorotation). As the battery density increases, this mild electrification may move to higher use of hybrid-electric battery solutions.


This will be followed by hydrogen fuel cells being introduced in the next 10-20 years.


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A Pratt & Whitney Canada technician fine-tunes the PT6T twin-pack engine


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