Aviation giant P&W to use 100 percent sustainable fuel for engine tests

Pratt & Whitney and Air bp will work together to provide new insight into fuel performance emissions reductions using SAF. The alternative fuel has been touted as an efficient way to vastly reduce carbon emissions for aviation, which accounts for approximately 2 percent of all global carbon emissions annually.

Electric propulsion and battery technology currently aren't advanced enough to power long-haul passenger planes, though drop-in fuels such as SAF can be used with existing technology to greatly reduce emissions.

The aviation industry "must use multiple approaches"

SAF isn't the only route these companies are taking, however. Pratt & Whitney says it is also developing hybrid-electric systems, and hydrogen fuel technologies. Airbus, meanwhile, announced it will also use an A380 airliner to test hydrogen propulsion systems by 2026.

Simple engine efficiency also goes a long way towards cutting emissions, explains Graham Webb, Chief Sustainability Officer at Pratt & Whitney. "The commercial aviation industry must use multiple approaches when it comes to addressing the challenges of sustainable aviation," Webb says. "One immediate opportunity is to radically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels while we continue to improve engine efficiency."

So far, the FAA has only authorized the use of 50 percent SAF blended with kerosene, and firms including Pratt & Whitney, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and others are working to earn 100 percent SAF certification, which would go a long way to helping the aviation industry achieve its carbon net-zero goals.