Honeywell APUs to test sustainable aviation fuel

Honeywell recently received its first delivery of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Phoenix Engines campus. The fuel will support development and production testing of auxiliary power units (APUs) and propulsion engines at the site, along with testing of fielded units from Honeywell’s repair and overhaul facility.

Developed by World Energy LLC in California using Honeywell’s UOP Ecofining™ technology and distributed by World Fuel Services, the SAF is produced by converting readily available renewable materials such as hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA). SAF can be combined with conventional jet fuel to power aircraft in blends of up to 50% with petroleum-based jet fuel. Blended SAF requires no changes to engine or aircraft fuel systems or fuel infrastructure. Honeywell also has plans to test other SAF blends and to run engines and APUs on 100% SAF in the future.

“At Honeywell, we see SAF as a logical path to decarbonize the aviation industry and we consider our facilities as laboratories for sustainable innovation,” said Dave Marinick, president of Engines and Power Systems, Honeywell Aerospace. “Honeywell has a wide variety of ready-now solutions to help create a more sustainable future for the aviation sector, and we are proud to make this progress on our sustainability commitments in our propulsion and power systems portfolio. Running our engines and APUs on SAF is a further demonstration of our commitment to our customers to do our part to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Honeywell’s first APU took to the skies in 1950, and the company has built more than 100,000 since then. More than 36,000 APUs, including both fixed wing and rotary wing, are in service today across more than 150 regional, executive, commercial and military applications.

Honeywell engines have been used in aircraft propulsion since 1953. Honeywell’s propulsion engines, like the HTF7000 with more than 1.7 million flight hours, focus on safety, performance, and reliability.

Honeywell is committed to achieving carbon neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035. About 60% of Honeywell’s new product introduction research and development investment is directed toward products that improve environmental and social outcomes for customers.