Rolls-Royce working on demonstrator next-gen narrowbody engine

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc is working on a demonstrator for a next-generation narrowbody engine based on its Ultrafan technology, as the engine maker seeks to get back into the biggest segment of the commercial airplane industry.

The company expects to test-fly a demonstrator in the next three to five years, Chief Executive Officer Tufan Erginbilgic told reporters at the Farnborough International Air Show on Tuesday. Rolls-Royce is also seeking industrial partners for the potential program, given the scale of the manufacturing that such an endeavor would involve, the executive said. 

While Rolls-Royce is now focused on widebody aircraft engines, such as the Trent XWB model that exclusively powers the Airbus A350 or the Trent 7000 on the Airbus A330neo, it was until about a decade ago part of the International Aero Engines consortium that made the V2500 engine for the A320 and some other aircraft, working with partners that included Pratt & Whitney, Japanese Aero Engines Corp. and German manufacturer MTU Aero Engines AG.

The Ultrafan program has been touted by the engine maker as more powerful and fuel efficient. Any narrowbody turbine would be developed on the same timeline indicated by planemakers such as Airbus SE, which is aiming for around the middle of the next decade, Erginbilgic said.

Airbus has dangled the prospect of building a successor to the best-selling A320 series of jets by the middle of the 2030s as it looks to eke out greater efficiencies by incorporating new technology.

The current A320neo is powered by either a model made by Pratt & Whitney or one provided by CFM, the engine consortium of Safran SA and General Electric Co. The competing Boeing Co. 737 only comes with the CFM option. Both aircraft make up the backbone of global aviation fleets, making them an attractive program for suppliers like Rolls-Royce.