SILOET 2: Project 2 Lightweight Fan System Technology Development

Rolls-Royce and the University of Oxford are building and testing lighter fan systems for jet engines, aiming to cut the weight of future aircraft engines. Aircraft engines are heavy, and every kilogram of weight directly increases fuel burn and CO₂ emissions. Current fan systems—the large front blades that pull air into the engine—are already optimised, but further weight reductions require new designs and materials that must survive extreme forces, temperatures, and fatigue over thousands of flight cycles. This project addresses the gap between a promising design on paper and a component that can pass full-scale rig testing. If the new fan system technologies prove reliable in the test rigs, they could be incorporated into next-generation civil jet engines. Lighter engines mean airlines burn less fuel per flight, reducing operating costs and cutting aviation’s carbon footprint. The public will not see the change, but they will feel it in cheaper tickets and—more importantly—in lower emissions from a sector that is notoriously hard to decarbonise. The project is applied engineering, not fundamental science, and its success depends on whether the components survive mechanical and environmental testing.