Photo: Safran Group
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is heralded as a game-changer not just for commercial airplanes but also for helicopters. But in order to take it to large-scale use, cooperation between various players in the aerospace industry is essential.
Safran Helicopter Engines has joined forces with the Commercial Aerospace business of ST Engineering for researching and developing the use of SAF for helicopter engines. The ultimate goal is to support helicopter operators' transition to this alternative fuel.
Switching from conventional fuel to SAF safely and effectively is not a simple process but one that requires extensive testing. This is why one of the largest aerospace companies, Safran, is launching this project centered around its helicopter engines.
At first, ground tests of the Safran engines using SAF will be conducted at ST Engineering’s facilities. During the next phase, helicopter operators will be invited to participate in extensive flight tests. Not only the technical performance but also the economic performance of SAF used for helicopter engines will be evaluated.
The two main partners are hoping that this study will help accelerate the use of SAF and the certification for the use of 100% SAF in the next years. Safran is already getting close to that goal, with its helicopter engines currently certified to operate on 50% SAF. In addition to that, it wants to reduce carbon emissions at all of its facilities around the world by using SAF at its test benches. So far, it has integrated the use of SAF at a 10% level of total fuel usage at its sites in France and intends to get up to 50% by 2025.
ST Engineering, on the other hand, is tackling carbon emissions reduction in other ways, one of them being its EcoPower aircraft engine wash system for lower fuel burn, helping operators reduce their carbon footprint.
In 2021, Safran provided the engine for the first rescue helicopter that successfully flew using SAF. Built by Airbus on an H145 platform, it became the first rescue helicopter to be fueled by SAF during a demonstration flight organized by the ADAC Luftrettung non-profit organization in Germany.
Switching from conventional fuel to SAF safely and effectively is not a simple process but one that requires extensive testing. This is why one of the largest aerospace companies, Safran, is launching this project centered around its helicopter engines.
At first, ground tests of the Safran engines using SAF will be conducted at ST Engineering’s facilities. During the next phase, helicopter operators will be invited to participate in extensive flight tests. Not only the technical performance but also the economic performance of SAF used for helicopter engines will be evaluated.
The two main partners are hoping that this study will help accelerate the use of SAF and the certification for the use of 100% SAF in the next years. Safran is already getting close to that goal, with its helicopter engines currently certified to operate on 50% SAF. In addition to that, it wants to reduce carbon emissions at all of its facilities around the world by using SAF at its test benches. So far, it has integrated the use of SAF at a 10% level of total fuel usage at its sites in France and intends to get up to 50% by 2025.
ST Engineering, on the other hand, is tackling carbon emissions reduction in other ways, one of them being its EcoPower aircraft engine wash system for lower fuel burn, helping operators reduce their carbon footprint.
In 2021, Safran provided the engine for the first rescue helicopter that successfully flew using SAF. Built by Airbus on an H145 platform, it became the first rescue helicopter to be fueled by SAF during a demonstration flight organized by the ADAC Luftrettung non-profit organization in Germany.
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