Honeywell and French aerospace leader Safran have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture company to deliver an innovative new electric green taxiing system for new and existing aircraft. Honeywell and Safran expect it to be installed on new aircraft and retrofitted on to existing planes, beginning in 2016.
Taxiing burns a significant amount of fuel – current industry analysis indicates that the world's short-haul aircraft consume 5 million tons of fuel per year during taxi operations. The new electric green taxiing system offered by the Honeywell-Safran joint venture company will save customers up to 4% of the total fuel consumption — all while providing green benefits that significantly reduce the carbon and other emissions produced by taxiing at ground level.
Honeywell and Safran will leverage the plane's Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) generator to power electrical motors in the aircraft's main wheels without using main engines during aircraft ground operations, thereby cutting costs, emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
