International Aero Engines (IAE) has completed a test run on the V2500 engine using 100% sustainable aviation fuel.
The engine OEM says the successful test was recently completed at the Hanover, Germany, facility of MTU Maintenance, the MRO business of MTU Aero Engines.
According to MTU Maintenance, the V2500 test was carried out with 100% hydro processed esters and fatty acids synthetic paraffinic kerosine fuel (HEFA-SPK), a renewable fuel produced from variants of waste oils and fats. The SAF was supplied by Finland-based oil refiner Neste.
The V2500 predominantly powers the Airbus A320ceo aircraft along with some Embraer C-390 Millennium military transports. Despite its longevity as a program, the V2500 is expected to remain in service until 2045.
“This test with 100% SAF demonstrates that V2500 engines can continue contributing towards making aviation more sustainable in the decades ahead,” says Kim Kinsley, president at IAE and Pratt & Whitney's vice president of mature commercial engines.
Kinsley says that with nearly 3,000 V2500-powered aircraft in service today, IAE sees itself playing an important role in supporting the industry’s net-zero CO2 emissions targets by 2050.
“We anticipate the majority of our eight IAE company shops will be prepared to use SAF in their operations in the next few years,” Kinsley adds.
MTU Maintenance says it is the first MRO facility in the world to carry out a 100% SAF test on the V2500 engine. “This test demonstrates our commitment to supporting greater use of SAF across both our entire network and the broader industry,” says Michael Schreyögg, chief program officer at MTU Aero Engines.
The German company has worked on SAF testing over the past few years having entered partnerships with the likes of U.S. airline JetBlue aimed at testing and gathering data on the use of SAF for the airline’s V2500 engine fleet. MTU has also carried out SAF testing on the CFM56 engine for Saudi Aramco using an almost 40% SAF blend.
MTU Maintenance’s German parent is one of the partners in the IAE consortium along with Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Aero Engines International and Japanese Aero Engines Corporation.
