Rolls-Royce forms a Carbon Partnership with China Eastern to reduce fuel consumption and emissions
China Eastern Airbus A330-300 (photo: Airbus)
Mon 15 Nov 2010 – The $1.2 billion order from China Eastern Airlines for Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines signed last week in Beijing – witnessed by visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao – included an agreement to form a Carbon Partnership. This will see Rolls-Royce provide China Eastern with a fuel management service for the airline’s fleet of more than 300 aircraft. This will be provided by Reston, Virgina-based Optimized Systems and Solutions (OSyS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK engine manufacturer. The service is already in use by several other airlines including easyJet, Qatar Airways and Thomson Airways. The China Eastern deal will also include the supply of enhanced performance kits to upgrade the Trent 700 engines on the airline’s 20 existing Airbus A330 aircraft.
Despite the problems Rolls-Royce is currently having with the Trent 900 engines powering the Airbus A380 superjumbo, the engine manufacturer claims market leadership for the Trent 700 on the A330, capturing over 75% of orders over the last three years, and is the only engine specifically designed for the aircraft type.
According to China Eastern’s Chairman, Liu Shaoyong, the Carbon Partnership is expected to lead to reductions in fuel consumption by at least 2% in the first year, the equivalent of a 190,000-tonne reduction in CO2.
The OSyS software and service provides fuel usage analysis, management and optimization that allow airlines to drive operational efficiencies, measure improvement initiatives and mitigate their environmental impact. The company supports all engine types, not just those of Rolls-Royce.
OSyS also provides a modular ETS (emissions trading scheme) MRV (monitoring, reporting and verification) modular solution using the company’s own hosted software.
Meanwhile, to reflect the burgeoning increase in air travel in China, Boeing has just raised its previous forecast for commercial aircraft demand in the country over the next 20 years from $400 billion to $480 billion. According to the airplane manufacturer, China will need 4,330 new aircraft over the period, making it the largest market outside the United States. It forecasts that 71% of demand will be for single-aisle airplanes, with total deliveries reaching 3,090.
“China is one of the world’s fastest growing and dynamic aviation markets, driven by the urbanization of China, the growth of its economy and ever-increasing personal wealth,” said Randy Tinseth, Vice President of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We expect domestic passenger traffic for China to grow at a rate of 7.9% on average.”
With China’s cargo markets leading the global industry, Chinese air carriers will add about 330 freighter airplanes by 2029, says Boeing. China’s total fleet of freighter airplanes will more than triple in size.
Worldwide, Boeing projects investments of $3.6 trillion for 30,900 new commercial airplanes to be delivered during the next 20 years. It expects the Asia-Pacific region to require around 10,320 new aircraft in the period, as it surpasses North America as the world’s biggest aircraft market.
Last month, Boeing announced that in cooperation with Air China and others, it plans to test a locally grown jatropha-based biofuel blend by the middle of 2011. The fuel is expected to be supplied by oil company PetroChina, which grows jatropha in southern China for aviation use, said Boeing China’s Al Bryant, Vice President of Research and Technology.
“This flight is going to demonstrate that China has the ability to create a new biofuel industry here in China,” he said.
