4 minute read
SHELL AVIATION
Growth and decarbonisation
A view from Vincent Begon, the recently appointed General Manager of Shell Aviation Lubricants
In 2022, passenger numbers are expected to reach 83% of prepandemic levels. As the industry continues to recover, that means more aircraft will be fuelled and, for us, the priority is keeping them flying safely and efficiently by providing high-performance lubricants.
On the lubricants side of our business, we are investing in strengthening our supply chain with a new grease manufacturing plant and expanding our distribution network through partnerships in China, India and Latin America.
PRODUCTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Dependable global supply is important but so too is lubricant performance. We are a supplier with high-quality products for all aviation customers, from private pilots to MROs and airlines. All products must meet minimum specifications, but not all approved products are the same.
Let us take AeroShell Turbine Oil 560 as an example. Operating temperatures have soared, but some airlines are still using standard performance (STD) turbine oils. This means accepting coking, which may occasionally lead to expensive flight cancellations. High thermal stability (HTS) oils offer less coking and while some do not perform well with seals, that is not true for all HTS oils.
In tests, a competitor’s HTS oil exhibited nearly twice the swelling rate of AeroShell Turbine Oil 560, which has the correct rates to create a stable, tight seal. Other tests confirm AeroShell Turbine Oil 560’s low coking performance, and these results are backed by strip-down and borescope inspections.
Low coking means better reliability and lower maintenance costs, and good seal performance helps to reduce leaking; one customer reported a 10–15% reduction in oil consumption after switching to AeroShell Turbine Oil 560.
This proven performance has led to AeroShell Turbine Oil 560 being the only HTS oil approved for CFM56 engines and not listed as causing seal issues. It is also the only HTS oil approved for use in Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines. A customer using the oil in a PT6A-67P-powered Pilatus PC12-47 (NG) aircraft extended the time between overhaul from 3,000 to 5,000 hours, saving the airline $56 per engine flying hour.
We have also been investing in grease approvals. To avoid incompatibility issues, we created AeroShell Grease 58 for wheel bearings, built on the same lithiumcomplex technology as AeroShell Greases 33 and 64. AeroShell Grease 58 also helps to extend bearing and grease life compared with MILPRF-81322 specification greases. In addition to financial savings, reducing oil consumption and extending grease life have modest emissions reduction benefits.
WORKING TOGETHER TO DECARBONISE AVIATION
At Shell, our target is to become a netzero emissions energy business by 2050. We are working closely with new and existing customers and others to reduce carbon emissions, sector by sector. However, this is particularly challenging in sectors like aviation, where emissions reduction is hard to achieve.
In 2021, IATA reported record SAF production but still amounting to just 0.04% of global aviation fuel production. At Shell, we aim to have at least 10% of our global aviation fuel sales as SAF by 2030. To achieve this, we are building our SAF production capacity, investing in promising technologies to accelerate new production pathways, and collaborating with customers and partners to
WATCH VIDEO
Shell is investing in scaling SAF production and in 2021 created kerosene from water, captured carbon and renewable energy for a the world’s first flight to be partially fuelled by synthetic SAF
A number 5 bearing housing from a CFM56-7B after 23,000 hours and 9,000 cycles since its last overhaul, showing that coking need not be accepted as normal
increase SAF supply and demand. For example, we are building one of Europe’s largest biofuels facilities at our Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam with an 820,000-tonnes-a-year production capacity expected from 2024.
One of our priorities is collaboration across the value chain to unlock demand. In August 2022, Shell signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa over a potential purchase agreement which could deliver up to 1.8 million tonnes of SAF over seven years, starting in 2024.
Business travel is uniquely positioned to play a role in scaling SAF demand. This is why we have teamed up with Accenture, American Express Global Business Travel and Energy Web Foundation to launch Avelia, one of the world’s first blockchain-powered SAF book-andclaim platforms. This solution would give corporations the ability to buy SAF and receive its environmental benefits regardless of their geographic location.
FUEL AND LUBRICANT PARTNER OF CHOICE
The next 30 years, towards 2050, will see aviation grow while substantially reducing carbon emissions, and Shell Aviation is already offering decarbonisation solutions for airlines and MROs. For more than a century, we have delivered in a spirit of collaboration, innovation and problem solving, from helping to develop the jet engine to advancing lubricant technologies to developing new digital SAF book-and-claim solutions. We aim to be the partner of choice as growth returns and customers act on their decarbonisation ambitions. l
