Longueuil, Quebec. 16 November 2021. Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), announced that it will participate in a long-term sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) strategy by German air rescue operator ADAC Luftrettung. To support their goal of achieving carbon neutrality for their operations, ADAC Luftrettung will extend SAF usage to its fleet of P&WC-powered helicopters.
“We are thrilled to be part of ADAC Luftrettung’s journey to expand SAF usage across its operations,” said Nicolas Chabée, vice president, Marketing and Sales, Helicopter Engines, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “SAFs have a crucial role to play in reducing the environmental footprint of aviation and lessening the industry’s consumption of fossil fuels. Initiatives like ADAC Luftrettung’s will help raise awareness about the benefits of SAF, and, importantly, demonstrate that there is growing demand to support an increase in the supply of SAF – which our industry urgently needs.”
While all Pratt & Whitney engines are certified to operate on blends of up to 50% SAF with conventional Jet A/A-1 kerosene, this pilot program will allow ADAC Luftrettung to validate its own best practices for SAF usage in its day-to-day operations. With a commitment to operate SAF at blends of 30-40% over the course of 36 months, the program will set one of the most extensive operational SAF usage cases for the sector.
ADAC Luftrettung is one of Europe’s largest air rescue organizations, with a fleet of more than 50 helicopters, including P&WC-powered H135 helicopters.
“Sustainable aviation fuel is a key contributor to our strategy to achieve carbon neutrality for our operations,” said Frédéric Bruder, CEO of ADAC Luftrettung. “We are determined to be a pioneer for increasing SAF usage in air rescue operations and are grateful for the support of strong collaborators like Pratt & Whitney Canada.”
Pratt & Whitney has been actively involved in testing SAFs for almost two decades and helped to establish technical standards, which allows today’s engines to operate SAF at blends of up to 50% with standard kerosene. Pratt & Whitney is working towards validating its engines to operate with 100% SAF and continues to collaborate closely with the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and ASTM International in service of that goal.
