Embraer, Pratt & Whitney Partner on 100 Percent SAF Demo Program

Technicians from both companies will collaborate to develop an integrated ground- and flight-test plan for 100 percent SAF in a GTF-powered Embraer E195-E2, the companies announced this week. 

Embraer will provide the aircraft, technical support, and personnel for the flight-test program. No date was announced yet for the initial flight. 

In a press release, Embraer president and CEO Arjan Meijer said the partnership would “enable our customers to operate as sustainably as possible,” and that Embraer was “delighted” to partner with Pratt & Whitney.

The agreement is an effort to help fulfill a pledge the business aviation industry made earlier this fall to reach net-zero carbon emissions from air travel by 2050.

In the same release, Graham Webb, chief sustainability officer at Pratt & Whitney, said his company has actively supported SAF initiatives for nearly two decades and highlighted the importance of collaboration with partners like Embraer in the “constant pursuit of more efficient aircraft propulsion technologies.”

Technical standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) allow aircraft to operate with blended SAF, which combines with up to 50 percent traditional jet fuel. The blend is then re-certified as jet-A or jet-A1 and needs no changes to the fuel infrastructures or for an aircraft wanting to use SAF. 

Using SAF could result in up to an 80 percent reduction of carbon emissions, depending on various factors such as feedstock and production method, compared to the traditional jet fuel.