Jan. 7, 2008 Aerospace design firm Pratt & Whitney has found the first buyer for its new energy-efficient jet engine, Design News reports. Mitsubishi will test the engine, which burns less fuel, makes less noise, and generates fewer carbon emissions, in its 70-90 passenger Regional Jet.

The PW8000 geared turbofan engine uses a gearbox to regulate the compressor and turbine, which operate most efficiently at higher speeds, separately from the fan, which operates best at slower speeds. The increased efficiency enables the PW8000 to use just half the number of compressors and airfoils of comparably sized engines, lowering operating costs by 10% and maintenance costs by nearly 30%. Advanced burner technology reduces air emissions to 40% below 1996 regulations, according to Pratt & Whitney. (For more details on the engine's design, click here.)

Pratt & Whitney estimates that a typical 120-180 passenger aircraft equipped with its geared turbofan engine could save $600,000 each year due to lower operating and maintenance costs and improved productivity.

The new engine, which will begin flight testing this year, is the product of ten years and $350 million spent in research and development. "We have known since the early 1980s that the theoretical argument for a geared fan engine was compelling in terms of cost, fuel burn, noise, and reliability," Pratt & Whitney president Karl J. Krapek tells Aerospace Engineering Online. "We also knew that it would take careful technology development to create an engine with those new levels of performance and the ruggedness and reliability the world's airlines expect."

Mitsubishi expects to sell about 5,000 of its PW8000-equipped jets over the next 20 years.