The bet is now on SAF fuel, not electricity
Yesterday, the first ever commercial long-distance flight took place on an aircraft completely fueled with environmentally friendly SAF fuel. The Boeing 787 aircraft, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, took off from London and landed in New York. And today Rolls-Royce announced that it is changing its strategy, abandoning its reliance on electric motors.
The company has not just decided to shift its focus to engines powered by SAF fuel – it will even sell the Rolls-Royce Electrical division, which develops electric engines for flying taxis and small aircraft. At the same time, the production volume of jet fuel engines will be doubled. Specifically, Rolls-Royce will invest the money raised from the sale of the said asset (and other assets) into its giant UltraFan engine.
In general, of course, it’s not at all about yesterday’s flight. The company was hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, laying off thousands of people, and this year Rolls-Royce was led by a new leader who began to streamline the business. Of course, if the company had high hopes for electric motors, it would not be planning to sell the corresponding division, but it probably would not have been sold either, without the pandemic. In addition, Rolls-Royce will sell not only Rolls-Royce Electrical, but also a number of other non-core assets.