Rolls-Royce reportedly close to UK funding deal for UltraFan 30 programme

The UK government is reportedly close to agreeing a funding package worth between £100 million and £200 million for Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan 30 programme, according to reporting by the Financial Times.

The newspaper reported that the proposed support would help fund development and testing of demonstrator models for the next-generation narrowbody engine.

The agreement has not been announced publicly, and negotiations are said to remain ongoing.

If true, it would be one of the biggest financial commitments by Prime Minister Andy Burnham in his promise to reindustrialise Britain and create thousands of new jobs in high-value manufacturing.

According to the Financial Times, the proposed agreement is expected to include commitments from Rolls-Royce relating to jobs and manufacturing activity in the UK.

Rolls-Royce developing the next-gen UltraFan 30

It’s reported the funding would go towards the development and testing of demonstrator models of the UltraFan 30.

The original UltraFan demonstrator was built to help create a new scalable generation of aeroengines.

Rolls-Royce is currently working on developing its second prototype. That prototype is for the large UltraFan 80 expected to power future widebody aircraft.

The narrowbody UltraFan 30 engine remains at an earlier stage of development and is intended to allow Rolls-Royce to re-enter the narrowbody engine market.

The UltraFan 30 could power next-generation replacements to the popular Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 airliners. It is intended to deliver 20% reduced fuel burn compared with previous-generation engines, and ground testing is to begin in 2028.

Rolls-Royce states on its website, “Our UltraFan 30 demonstrator will not only drive continued improvements in fuel burn and efficiency but will enable us to support the long-term growth of this market – creating tens of thousands of high-value jobs nationally and stimulating growth in UK manufacturing capability…”

Rolls-Royce’s chief executive Tufan Erginbilgiç has previously said that developing the engine could generate up to 40,000 skilled jobs.

Rolls-Royce has called it a once-in-a-generation opportunity that could eventually generate as much as £120 billion for the British economy.

ADS Advance reached out to Rolls-Royce for comment but did not hear back prior to publishing.