Rolls-Royce Unveils New Engine for Future Boeing, Airbus Jets

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, the world’s No. 2 commercial jet-engine maker, will pursue geared turbofan technology championed by rival Pratt & Whitney as it seeks to power future Boeing Co. and Airbus Group NV aircraft.

The so-called UltraFan would be available from 2025 and offer about 10 percent greater efficiency than the TrentXWB, the engine maker’s most modern turbine, said Simon Carlisle, executive vice president for future programs at Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division. The UltraFan would build on the so-called Advanced engine, a technology upgrade due from 2020.

“The demands of the industry are becoming much greater,” Carlisle said. “We need to make sure we don’t stand still.”

Rolls-Royce has focused on powering long-range airliners, with engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A380 superjumbo and the A350 that is due to begin commercial operation this year. The company has 2,500 Trent-family engines in service and orders for the same number to come.

The London-based manufacturer faces competition to power future aircraft, with General Electric  Co. the exclusive provider for the Boeing 777X, the largest twin-engine plane due around 2020. Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies  Corp.’s engine arm, is also seeking wide-body applications for its geared turbofan technology on narrow-bodies.

The new Rolls-Royce offerings are not aimed at a specific plane from Airbus or Boeing, Carlisle said. Airbus has said it is exploring re-engining programs for its A380 and A330 wide-bodies.

Single-Aisle Return

Rolls-Royce, which spends about 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) on technology research each year, will run a test engine in 2015 to help mature the 2020 powerplant, with a trial UltraFan to come toward the end of the decade, Carlisle said at the company’s civil aerospace center in Derby.

Chief Executive Officer John Rishton has made cost control a priority as the company faces a year of no growth in 2014 for the first time in a decade. The new programs will not cause a spike in capital requirements, Carlisle said.

Technologies could flow into future engines to power the more ubiquitous single-aisle market, where Rolls-Royce has retrenched after exiting the International Aero Engines joint venture led by Pratt & Whitney. Carlisle said returning to that market is “absolutely” planned.

The new engine will include technologies including composite fan blades and casing that will save about 750 pounds in weight per turbine. Design improvements also should eliminate the need for thrust reversers.

Source:    http://www.businessweek.com