ITP Aero has delivered the first Rolls-Royce UltraFan intermediate pressure turbine (IPT) from its assembly facility in Ajalvir (Madrid) and over the coming weeks, the IPT will be assembled on the complete demonstration engine at Rolls-Royce's Derby facilities. Once complete, the engine will go on test at the new engine test facility, Testbed80, in Derby in 2022. The first run will be on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The new generation engine will be 25 percent more fuel efficient than the original Trent 700 and is a key element of the ITP Aero sustainability strategy as part of its commitment to continue to improve gas turbine performance. Efficient gas turbines will continue to be required in a post-COVID-19 aerospace industry as they remain the only effective way to transport people over long distances. ITP Aero is also developing key technologies that will lay the grounds for hybrid-electric and hydrogen powered aeronautical engines in line with its medium/long term sustainable aviation strategy.
UltraFan can be scaled to create a family of engines capable of powering either narrow-body or wide-body aircraft. UltraFan features a new architecture and light-weight composite materials as well as what ITP Aero says is the world’s most powerful aerospace gearbox. The UltraFan demonstrator will be the world’s largest engine with a fan diameter of 140 inches – a London tube train could run through a circle the size of the engine’s fan case.
Regarding ITP Aero’s role in the development of the UltraFan engine, Erlantz Cristobal, executive director of technology and engineering at ITP Aero, commented, "Delivering the first IPT for the UltraFan demonstrator is a milestone of great importance for us. We strongly believe UltraFan will play a key role in making aviation an increasingly sustainable industry in the next decades, in line with our commitment to lead the way in the transition to a net zero world."
