ATR and Pratt & Whitney Canada have announced an agreement to ensure the PW127 series engines that power the airframe manufacturer’s regional turboprops are ready for 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by 2025. This will also include the new PW127XT.
The collaboration with ATR will commence between 2023 and 2024. It will work to build on Pratt & Whitney’s recent work on 100% SAF flight testing, as shown by the successful Braathens Regional Airlines ATR 72-600 test flight with PW127M engines in June 2022.
All of PWC’s engines have already been certified for 50% SAF blends for more than a decade. ATR is aiming to obtain 100% SAF certification for its ATR 42 and 72 by 2025.
On this collaboration, Anthony Rossi, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Pratt & Whitney Canada, said: “SAF has a critical role to play on the journey to achieve the industry’s goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Ensuring readiness to operate with 100% SAF blends in future will allow us to maximise their potential for decarbonisation.”
Nathalie Tarnaud Laude, ATR’s Chief Executive Officer, added that it was their “collective responsibility” as an industry to ensure vital regional connections were operated sustainably. “Now, we need to continue to join forces to increase SAF availability, as part of our common journey towards net-zero,” she said.
