Rolls-Royce has been selected by the European Union’s Clean Aviation programme to lead the ELEVATED project, which will demonstrate a hybrid-electric gas-turbine propulsion system for future short- to medium-range aircraft. The work, led by Rolls-Royce Deutschland, brings together partners from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK.
The project’s first objective is to integrate a hybrid-electric subsystem into a donor engine so it can be controlled and tested under realistic conditions. Rolls-Royce expects the concept to support at least a 20% reduction in aircraft-level carbon dioxide emissions, placing the effort in the core of narrowbody and regional aircraft decarbonisation.
ELEVATED is one of 19 Clean Aviation projects selected in the programme’s latest call. The consortium is part of a wider push to accelerate lower-emission aviation technologies, with the project also set to inform work on the UltraFan 30 technology demonstrator. Clean Aviation funding for the call reaches up to €290 million, alongside broader public and private investment across the programme.