Our Noble Cause: My Take on GE's 2020 Sustainability Report
July 16, 2021 | by John Slattery, President and CEO, GE Aviation
As the leading provider of civil and military propulsion, GE Aviation has an inherent responsibility to help the aviation industry decarbonize. Rising to this challenge inspires our employees, serves our customers, and indeed, is good for our business.
We are organizing our efforts around three pillars: accelerating bold technology developments in future engines to reduce emissions; driving efficiencies across our own facilities; and engaging across the aviation industry with governments to advocate for advances like alternative fuels that will enable the installed base to operate more sustainably, a critical element of the commercial aviation industry’s carbon commitments.
Our newest engines are designed to offer better fuel efficiency and lower CO2emissions than their predecessors. From the GE9X, which is the culmination of our decade-long commercial product renewal, to the Passport and Catalyst business and general aviation engines, to the T901 and T408 turboshafts for military helicopters, we have the industry’s broadest array of advanced engines.
Beyond engines, GE Aviation’s Systems business continues to bring additional efficiencies to aircraft performance. These technologies include power generation, conversion and distribution systems focused on electrification, avionics solutions that optimize flight paths, and Dowty Propellers, which is developing more efficient and quieter integrated propeller systems.
However, we are not stopping there. We are actively investing in developing technologies for the next generation of engines, defining bold new architectures, and embracing the most advanced materials to enable us to lead the decarbonization effort. We plan to demonstrate hybrid-electric capabilities by the middle of this decade, and we have a clearly defined roadmap to deliver at least another 20 percent improvement in efficiency and CO2 emissions for the next generation engine for future single-aisle airliners, the workhorse of the commercial airline industry.
Equally important is the work we have done to advance the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which offers up to 80 percent less lifecycle carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel. Our first tests with biofuels were in 2007; we successfully operated GE90 engines on 100 percent SAF in 2018; and all our engines are capable of using approved SAF blends without modification.
GE Aviation is leading industry efforts to define standards for 100 percent SAF, and we are advocating for constructive government engagement to help make SAF more widely available and affordable. Hydrogen also holds promise as an alternative aviation fuel, and our research efforts there draw from GE Research and GE Power, where we have accumulated millions of hours of experience using blended hydrogen fuels with both industrial and aeroderivative engines.
Finally, we are empowering our 40,000 employees and embracing sustainability as a core value across our global facilities. We are using lean practices to identify and eliminate environmental waste, thereby reducing cost and our carbon footprint, consistent with GE’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
Throughout our 100-year history, GE Aviation has distinguished itself through a relentless focus on powering the future of flight. Sustainability is the challenge of our time and we embrace our role as a leading driver in decarbonizing the aviation industry, including supporting initiatives in our industry to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is our noble cause.
We are organizing our efforts around three pillars: accelerating bold technology developments in future engines to reduce emissions; driving efficiencies across our own facilities; and engaging across the aviation industry with governments to advocate for advances like alternative fuels that will enable the installed base to operate more sustainably, a critical element of the commercial aviation industry’s carbon commitments.
John Slattery, President and CEO, GE Aviation
Our newest engines are designed to offer better fuel efficiency and lower CO2emissions than their predecessors. From the GE9X, which is the culmination of our decade-long commercial product renewal, to the Passport and Catalyst business and general aviation engines, to the T901 and T408 turboshafts for military helicopters, we have the industry’s broadest array of advanced engines.
Beyond engines, GE Aviation’s Systems business continues to bring additional efficiencies to aircraft performance. These technologies include power generation, conversion and distribution systems focused on electrification, avionics solutions that optimize flight paths, and Dowty Propellers, which is developing more efficient and quieter integrated propeller systems.
However, we are not stopping there. We are actively investing in developing technologies for the next generation of engines, defining bold new architectures, and embracing the most advanced materials to enable us to lead the decarbonization effort. We plan to demonstrate hybrid-electric capabilities by the middle of this decade, and we have a clearly defined roadmap to deliver at least another 20 percent improvement in efficiency and CO2 emissions for the next generation engine for future single-aisle airliners, the workhorse of the commercial airline industry.
Equally important is the work we have done to advance the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which offers up to 80 percent less lifecycle carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel. Our first tests with biofuels were in 2007; we successfully operated GE90 engines on 100 percent SAF in 2018; and all our engines are capable of using approved SAF blends without modification.
GE Aviation is leading industry efforts to define standards for 100 percent SAF, and we are advocating for constructive government engagement to help make SAF more widely available and affordable. Hydrogen also holds promise as an alternative aviation fuel, and our research efforts there draw from GE Research and GE Power, where we have accumulated millions of hours of experience using blended hydrogen fuels with both industrial and aeroderivative engines.
Finally, we are empowering our 40,000 employees and embracing sustainability as a core value across our global facilities. We are using lean practices to identify and eliminate environmental waste, thereby reducing cost and our carbon footprint, consistent with GE’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
Throughout our 100-year history, GE Aviation has distinguished itself through a relentless focus on powering the future of flight. Sustainability is the challenge of our time and we embrace our role as a leading driver in decarbonizing the aviation industry, including supporting initiatives in our industry to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is our noble cause.
Read GE's 2020 Sustainability Report here.
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GE Aerospace is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.
