Air ambulance provider ADAC Luftrettung will extend the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to its fleet of helicopters powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) engines as part of its goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations. “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.”
ADAC Luftrettung is one of Europe’s largest air rescue organizations, with a fleet of more than 50 helicopters, including P&WC-powered Airbus H135 helicopters.
Pratt & Whitney Canada 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 percent with standard jet fuel. The company is working towards validating its engines to operate with 100 percent SAF and continues to collaborate closely with the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and ASTM International in service of that goal.
While all P&WC engines are certified to operate on blends of up to 50 percent SAF with conventional jet-A/A-1, this pilot program will allow ADAC Luftrettung to validate its own best practices for SAF usage in its day-to-day operations in cooperation with P&WC. ADAC intends to operate with SAF blends of 30 to 40 percent over the course of 36 months.
“We are thrilled to be part of ADAC Luftrettung’s journey to expand SAF usage across its operations,” said Nicolas Chabée, P&WC vice president, marketing and sales for helicopter engines. “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.”