Pratt & Whitney Canada and French aircraft maker ATR have announced they will “collaborate to achieve 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) readiness in PW127 series engines by 2025”.
The target date includes the PW127XT, the partner companies said, with ATR aiming to obtain 100% SAF certification for its ATR 42 and 72 aircraft by the same year.
The announcement came after ATR, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Braathens Regional Airlines in June 2022 carried out successful flight test on an ATR 72-600 aircraft with both PW127M engines fuelled “exclusively with SAF”.
“Our collaboration with ATR will be underway throughout 2023 and 2024 and builds on our recent 100% SAF test flight with Braathens Regional Airlines, which was an industry first for regional aviation,” said Anthony Rossi, vice president sales and marketing, Pratt & Whitney Canada.
“SAF has a critical role to play on the journey to achieve the aviation industry’s goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. While all Pratt & Whitney Canada engines have already been certified for 50% SAF blends for more than a decade, ensuring readiness to operate with 100% SAF blends in future will allow us to maximise their potential for decarbonisation,” Rossi added.
“We have recently demonstrated with our collaborators, Braathens Regional Airlines and Pratt & Whitney Canada, that ATR aircraft are SAF-ready,” said Nathalie Tarnaud Laude, ATR’s chief executive.
