Rolls-Royce plans to begin testing its still unnamed new small gas turbine engine. The company is preparing the first example for its first run in a test rig at the company’s Dahlewitz plant near Berlin.
Offering a 15 percent increase in efficiency when compared with the company’s current small engine, the M250, the new turbine features an integrated turbogenerator system to power hybrid-electric regional air vehicles in the nine- to 19-passenger category. The company plans to start testing the generator element next year and expects the whole system to enter service in 2029.
Nominally rated at 800 kilowatts, the turbogenerator is scalable to offer power ratings between 600 and 1,200 kilowatts and offers low noise levels of no greater than 62 dBA at 500 feet. The system is compact, measuring less than 1.5 meters long and 0.5 meters in diameter. A mean time between overhaul of 10,000 cycles represents a key design goal. Initially designed to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the turbine will also be adaptable to run on hydrogen fuel in the future.
Regional travel for vertical takeoff air vehicles over ranges of 200 to 500 kilometers is beyond the capabilities of current and projected battery technology alone, meaning there remains a place for gas turbine power. Combining the turbine with an energy storage system provides flexibility, as the turbine can either provide direct power or charge batteries in flight.
The new turbine/turbogenerator forms part of a growing portfolio of Rolls-Royce Electrical products aimed at the growing advanced air mobility sector. The division is developing efficient, air-cooled electric power units for smaller, short-range urban air mobility vehicles, as well as electrical power distribution and energy storage systems.