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Claire technology agenda

MTU’s technology agenda is called Clean Air Engine (Claire). In it, we lay out potential solutions and concepts for sustainable commercial engines to pave the way for emissions-free flight. All efforts are aimed at reducing climate impact—that is, CO2 and NOx emissions and contrail formation. At the same time, lowering energy consumption remains important as well.

Key elements are evolutionary enhancements of the gas turbine engine based on the geared turbofan, and completely new, revolutionary propulsion concepts, such as the water-enhanced turbofan and the flying fuel cell. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and hydrogen play an important role.

There are three stages on the journey to emissions-free flight: The first stage is marked by the geared turbofan, which has been a standard component since 2016. In conjunction with SAF, it can already significantly reduce climate impact today. In the second stage, the goal is to have not only the next-generation GTF, but also the Water-Enhanced Turbofan – driven by SAFs or hydrogen – ready to use in all thrust categories, along with the Flying Fuel CellTM for shorter, regional flights. A hydrogen-powered modern turbofan is also possible. Stage three will begin in 2050 and is aimed at further improving the efficiency of all propulsion technologies and introducing the fuel cell on short- and medium-haul routes.

Claire technology agenda

Geared turbofan

The first Claire stage was achieved with the highly efficient engines of the Pratt & Whitney GTFTM engine family. MTU contributes key technologies to these engines. They are used in modern narrowbody aircraft and reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 20 percent each per trip compared with their predecessors.

Work has as well already started on the second generation of geared turbofan engines, which boast additional improvements. When powered by SAF or liquid hydrogen, next generation turbofans could reduce the climate impact of aircraft by as much as 65 percent compared to a gas turbine from the year 2000.

Water-Enhanced Turbofan

The evolutionary enhancement of the gas turbine engine alone won’t be sufficient to realize the ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement. New revolutionary propulsion concepts are needed.

We’re working on that as well: a revolutionary, gas-turbine-based concept currently being explored is the Water-Enhanced Turbofan (WET). This concept utilizes heat recovery and wet combustion and can be applied in all thrust and power categories.

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Flying Fuel Cell™

In another revolutionary propulsion concept, MTU is investigating options for a full electrification of the powertrain. This, too, forms part of the second stage of Claire and is scheduled for completion by 2035. We see the greatest potential in converting hydrogen into electricity with the help of a fuel cell. We call this concept the Flying Fuel CellTM, or FFC for short.

The FFC is set to be deployed initially on short-haul routes in regional air traffic. It can reduce climate impact by 95 percent, to virtually zero, which means it is nearly emissions-free: it emits only water. With improved efficiency, plans call for the FFC to be used in short- and medium-haul flights as well starting in 2050, further reducing the climate impact of commercial aviation.

 

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Alternative fuels

A swift and significant reduction in climate impact can be achieved with sustainable aviation fuels, as they can be used immediately as drop-in fuels, i.e. without the need to adapt the aircraft or engine.

Known as SAF, these result in a largely closed CO2 cycle. In the best-case scenario, the CO2 released in flight is fully recaptured from the atmosphere for use in fuel production. SAF can also significantly reduce the formation of contrails.

In the long term, hydrogen will serve as the basis for climate-neutral propulsion of the future. We see three application possibilities: it can be burned directly in a gas turbine engine, converted into an SAF, or converted into electrical energy by means of a fuel cell.

Clean Air Engine – Three steps toward emissions-free flight

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