British Airways and Rolls-Royce have announced that they are starting a program of scientific tests to research the possibility for using an alternative to fuel for the industry of aviation. The studies will aim at identifying alternatives that are practical compared to the kerosene that the industry is using currently, which has potential to reduce the carbon footprints of planes. British Airways and Rolls-Royce will begin a tender process together by inviting suppliers the opportunity to offer alternative samples of fuel to be tested with a Rolls-Royce RB211 engine, which is used in the Boeing 747 of British Airways. The tests will occur in Derby at a Rolls-Royce facility on an engine test bed indoors.

Doing tests on the engine in a controlled environment will allow them to maintain more accurate results than if it was tested on a flight due to the additional instrumentation they can use and external factors that would affect the aircrafts emissions and performance. After the tender process, 4 alternative fuels will be selected to undergo testing in the laboratory before they are sent to Rolls-Royce at the beginning of next year. All of the companies will be requested to supply as much as 60,000 litres of alternative fuel. After this, intensive trials will begin, which is when the alternative fuels will be tested in the aero-engine, and the fuel’s performance will be compared to kerosene. During each test, operations of the engine will be of all its power range settings, including cruise, take-off, acceleration, and idle. They expect that testing will be completed by late March of next year, when the data will be analyzed and reported to benefit everyone.

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