Since our beginnings more than ninety years ago, Pratt & Whitney has been at the forefront of revolutionary advances in the aircraft engine efficiency and performance. Through dedicated investment and expertise, we are continually taking these advances further, and with a product portfolio that spans all aircraft types – from helicopters to large commercial jets – our technologies have a key role to play in enabling a sustainable future of flight.
GTF: Sustainability Starts With the Gear
With more than $10 billion invested over two decades, Pratt & Whitney pioneered the Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine, delivering a 16-20% improvement in fuel efficiency for single aisle aircraft, while reducing NOx emissions by 50%, and noise footprint by 75%. This revolutionary technology has already enabled airlines to achieve more sustainable growth, connecting more people, while saving millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions.
But the GTF is just at the beginning of its potential, it provides the foundational architecture for maximizing propulsive efficiency, allowing even greater improvements in efficiency in years to come.
With Great Power Comes Great Sustainability
We have already demonstrated this potential with the launch of the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage engine for Airbus A320neo family aircraft. As the first evolution of the GTF, the GTF Advantage brings an additional 1% improvement in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, while offering even greater thrust. The GTF Advantage demonstrates our commitment to develop the GTF architecture for large transport aircraft.
Unrivalled Turboprop Efficiency
Pratt & Whitney is also committed to continually advance the efficiency of its industry leading turboprop engines. With the launch of the PW127XT-M engine for the ATR 42/72 aircraft, Pratt & Whitney has set a new benchmark in performance for the engine class, delivering 3% better fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, while still having 20% lower maintenance costs and 40% extended time on wing. This further extends the unique sustainability advantages of regional turboprops, which can be up 40% more efficient than regional jets on equivalent missions.
Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Technology
As we advance our understanding of electrified aircraft systems, hybrid-electric engine configurations provide opportunities to optimize performance and further reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Pratt & Whitney Canada is targeting a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency with its hybrid-electric regional aircraft demonstrator, developed in partnership with Collins Aerospace and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.
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Next Generation Materials
Increasing thermal efficiency provides another route to lower fuel burn and CO2 emissions. We are pioneering the development of advanced materials such as ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) which can withstand higher temperatures and therefore allow greater efficiency in gas turbines.
Pratt & Whitney operates a dedicated CMC development facility in Carlsbad, California, and is collaborating with NASA to drive this technology further, as part of the Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project.