Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan Provides a Clean Engine as Air Traffic Doubles

Did you know that currently, less than one person in five has ever taken a flight? That number is expected to double by 2035 due to a combination of factors – greater urbanization, competition keeping fares affordable, and the weaving of travel into our everyday lifestyles. But what does this mean from a sustainability perspective?

That's why a Pratt & Whitney, a U.S. based company, has invested more than 20 years and $10 billion to create a new jet engine that will transport the world's growing mobile population quietly and efficiently. Multiple teams at Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation, dared to ask "what if?" and ended up creating a family of engines that burn less fuel and emit less NOx emissions.

Pratt & Whitney with its parent company United Technologies, a Fortune 45 manufacturer, developed the PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engine – a clean, green machine that delivers a 16 percent improvement in fuel efficiency, reduces NOx emissions by 50 percent to the regulatory limit and reduces noise footprint by 75 percent. In fact, the engine represents a generational gain in efficiency and was a transportation finalist in FastCo's World Changing Ideas Awards.

If a Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engine replaced every engine of the former generation, the world would save 15 billion gallons of fuel by 2025 – enough to go to Mars and back. As a next step in the race to the cleanest engine, United Technologies is working with alternative fuels and continuing to invest heavily in cutting-edge technologies such as additive manufacturing and nanomaterials.

Air traffic continues to rise, the GTF engine will help airlines sustainably manage this growth with technologies that are changing the world and helping Pratt & Whitney "Go Beyond."

To learn more about the Geared Turbofan and how Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies smart and innovative design created a new jet engine that takes sustainable aviation to new heights visit http://naturalleader.com/ or www.purepowerengines.com.