Prime Minister Boris Johnson has visited Rolls-Royce’s site in Bristol to see technology the aerospace giant is working on that will contribute towards net zero carbon emissions across its operations.
Mr Johnson met engineers from across the firm’s defence and naval programmes at the facility in Filton, which is aiming to be the organisation’s first to achieve net zero status by next year.
Ahead of the UN Climate Change summit in Glasgow, which begins on October 31, Mr Johnson observed work on an engine that will power the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon Aircraft, which is now capable of operating on 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Rolls-Royce undertakes work that seeks to decarbonise its core markets, including aviation, at its Bristol facility, such as the development of SAFs, small modular reactors, microgrids and all-electric and hybrid-electric power and propulsion solutions.
The company, which has also developed and flown a battery powered plane called the Spirit of Innovation, employs 3,000 people, including more than 130 apprentices, in Bristol.
Alongside the Prime Minister’s tour, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was shown by apprentices where the company’s work on making the F-35 combat aircraft capable of a short runway take-off and vertical landing takes place at the site.
Rolls-Royce is looking to reduce carbon emissions across its whole operations to net zero by 2050 and has committed to the UN’s Race to Zero initiative.
Warren East, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, said: ”We are honoured to host the 海角视频 Prime Minister at our Bristol site today and share with them just some of our pioneering technologies that will enable a net zero world.
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“Throughout Rolls-Royce, we are leading the transition to net zero to deliver sustainable power solutions for our customers. Rolls-Royce in Bristol is a great example – by using our technologies it will become one of the world’s first net zero industrial sites in 2022.”
Other sustainability features at the company’s Filton facility include a self-sufficient energy microgrid system, onsite solar power, providing savings of 1,600 tonnes of CO²e per year, and ground-source heat pumps which deliver savings of 1,512 tonnes CO²e per year.
The company’s chief technology officer Paul Stein joined his counterparts from six other aerospace manufacturers, including Airbus (also based in Filton) and Boeing, in reaffirming a shared position to support the aviation sector achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Rolls-Royce has pledged to prove all its Trent engines, which account for 40% of the world’s long-haul fleet, are compatible with 100% SAF by 2023.
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