Rolls-Royce partners up on new engine technology project

Rolls-Royce has teamed up with an aircraft manufacturer and an airline to test technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce noise.

The partnership with Boeing and Lufthansa will focus on a novel engine inlet, called the Next Generation Inlet.

The inlet enables the integration of more fuel-efficient engines onto future platforms and reduces weight as well as drag while maintaining acoustic performance.

The testing, which will take place at Boeing’s site in Montana, in the US, will be conducted on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet that is serving as Boeing’s 2026 ecoDemonstrator Explorer airplane.

This Boeing 787-9 is scheduled to be delivered to Lufthansa at a later date and features Trent 1000 engines from Rolls-Royce, which has its civil aerospace site in Derby.

The testing is expected to run through mid-August.

Alan Newby, director of research and technology at Rolls-Royce, said: “This programme is the culmination of a decade of collaboration with Boeing, built on a shared ambition to reduce noise, improve efficiency and unlock more sustainable flight.

“With Boeing and Lufthansa, we are building on our extensive research to test technologies in real-world conditions and see how they perform where it matters most – in service.

“We look forward to sharing insights and demonstrating how world-class partnership and innovation can deliver benefits for our customers and the industry.”

The innovations being tested are part of Phase III of the Federal Aviation Administration’s CLEEN (Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise) programme.

Through this initiative, CLEEN works together with industry to test and develop technologies that will enable manufacturers to create airplanes and engines with benefits such as improved fuel efficiency and reduced noise.

Lane Ballard, Boeing’s chief technology officer, said: “Boeing works tirelessly to deliver the aerospace innovations of today and tomorrow.

“The more efficient inlet and Intelligent Operations flight paths we’re evaluating on this year’s ecoDemonstrator Explorer are among the many promising concepts we’re working on.

“These enhancements have the potential to make our airplanes even more valuable to our partners, including customers like Lufthansa and suppliers like Rolls-Royce.”