Embraer, Wideroe, Rolls-Royce Study Zero-Emissions
Regional Airliner
February 16,
2022
Left to Right: Chris Cholerton, President – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, Andreas Aks, CEO of Widerøe Zero, a subsidiary of Widerøe and Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation
Credit:
Rolls-Royce
SINGAPORE—Building on a growing
relationship with Embraer over spinoff Eve Urban Air Mobility, Rolls-Royce and
Norwegian airline Wideroe have agreed to jointly study technology requirements
with the Brazilian aircraft-maker for a future zero-emissions regional
airliner.
The yearlong cooperation study is
targeted at accelerating airframe, propulsion and other technologies that the
group says, “will allow national governments to continue to support passenger
mobility while reusing most of the existing infrastructure in a more
sustainable way.”
Although no specific concept
aircraft or power size requirements are identified, the study will cover a
range of applications for new propulsion technologies including all-electric,
hydrogen fuel cell or hydrogen fueled gas turbine powered aircraft.
Wideroe, which now operates
40-80-seat regional turboprops and larger regional jets, has already formed a
partnership with Italy-based Tecnam and Rolls-Royce to prepare for entry into
service of the all-electric P-Volt, a nine-passenger regional aircraft based on
the P2012. However, the airline has longer-term plans to look at technology for
larger scale sustainable regional aircraft beyond the P-Volt, which is due to
enter service on short routes in 2026 as part of plans to electrify domestic
flights by 2030. The P-Volt will be powered by two 320-kW Rolls-Royce electric
motors, replacing the P2012’s two 275-kw (370 hp) Lycoming piston engines.
Rolls-Royce is a strategic investor
in Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility electric vertical take-off and landing
(eVTOL) project, and a longtime supplier of turbofans for the Brazilian
manufacturer’s regional jet line. The engine-maker is also bidding for a place
on Embraer’s proposed next-generation regional airliner with an advanced turboprop
engine.
Rob Watson, president of Rolls-Royce
Electrical, tells ShowNews that the three-way study agreement is designed to
maximize “the benefit of working with platformers and operators. It’s all about
how you optimize your mission profile; How do you optimize to reduce your
emissions? There’s a careful interplay of power, propulsion and platform
operation.”
The study agreement also goes beyond
basic technology, he adds. “Convening a group early to think about the
monetization of technology is really important. It’s not just the next
generation of something where you know how it’s going to apply, and what market
you’re going to sell it. It’s much more complex and has plenty of challenges
around it.
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