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Government invests over £40 million towards developing 'greener' engines

12 July 2007

DERBY: The Government is investing more than £40 million to help the UK aerospace industry take a significant step towards developing environmentally-friendly engines with reduced noise, fuel burn, carbon and nitrogen emissions.

Environmentally Friendly Engine (EFE) is a £95 million collaborative industrial research programme, led by aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce, to help design and test the technology needed for new generation of gas turbine engines over the next decade.

Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, said:

New technologies have the potential to make a real difference in reducing aviation’s impact on the environment. Aviation is a fast growing source of carbon emissions, and the amount that we fly is likely to increase.

We need to act now to create cleaner, greener technology to help ensure emissions don’t rise dramatically in the future. This technology is part of that.

This new programme is very important for the UK’s aviation industry, which faces significant global competition. Britain must work to maintain its place as a leader in aviation with a highly-skilled workforce and developing new innovative technologies is a big part of that. That is why government is investing in this groundbreaking project.

After completion of computer-led design and development engineering work, components will now be made and performance tested, initially mainly those in the ‘hot’ end of the engine, including combustion and turbine parts. Industrial partners will also be manufacturing different test components at their bases across the country, which will be then be brought together in a full engine demonstrator and tested at Rolls Royce’s Bristol facility.

Sir John Rose, Rolls-Royce Chief Executive, said at today’s event:

Innovation will be at the heart of society's response to climate change, with new technology having to be applied on an industrial scale if that response is to be effective.

Building on Rolls-Royce's strong track-record of technological excellence, the Environmentally Friendly Engine programme will develop the advanced technologies required for cleaner and quieter aero engines and will help the aviation industry meet demanding new targets aimed at reducing its environmental footprint.

Mr Denham said the EFE project illustrated all the elements the new Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) will bring together to support innovation and business success.

DIUS has been created to help ensure Britain stays ahead of global competition. Working with business, colleges and universities, DIUS will boost the number of world-class graduates and post-graduates and raise skills across the workforce. We will support universities in the drive for world class research. We will invest, through the TSB, in innovation and new technology. And we will work with companies, like Rolls Royce, that have the leadership and management to bring these different elements together in projects, like EFE, that will help secure the UK’s future prosperity.

The Technology Strategy Board provided £30 million for the project as part of Government's desire to drive forward innovation and applied technology to benefit the UK economy. Funding is also being provided by the Regional Development Agencies and the Devolved Administration in Northern Ireland, with the remaining 50% of the funding provided by industry partners.

EFE will be a significant step towards helping achieving goals set by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics in Europe (ACARE) of reducing aircraft CO2 emissions by 50% per passenger kilometre, NOx emissions by 80%, and perceived noise by 50% by 2020, using 2000 levels as a baseline.

The consortium for the programme includes Bombardier Aerospace, Goodrich Corporation, HS Marston Aerospace and Unison Engine Components. The universities of Birmingham, Cambridge, Loughborough, Oxford, Queens Belfast and Sheffield are also participating.

The EFE project, which will run until 2010, will also benefit regional areas, enabling regions to develop key clusters of technical expertise and individual companies to benefit from an expansion of their technology networks.

Notes to editors:

  • EFE is part of the UK’s National Aerospace Technology Strategy. It is a five-year research and technology project to validate a range of new aero-engine technologies aimed at reducing noise, fuel burn and emissions. EFE engineers will manage several work packages looking at key technology areas such as turbines, controls, fuel injection, heat exchangers and nacelles. First tests will take place in 2008, with ‘builds’ of the validation engine run on a specially-converted test bed at Rolls-Royce Bristol at regular intervals through to 2010.
  • The new Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) brings together the nation’s strengths in science, research, universities and colleges to build a dynamic, knowledge-based economy. It’s primary role will be to drive forward delivery of the Government’s long-term vision to make Britain one of the best places in the world for science, research and innovation and to raise the level of education and skills at every level in our economy to give the UK the competitive edge.
  • The funding for EFE is the largest single investment ever provided through the Government’s Technology Programme. The Technology Strategy Board, which allocates Technology Programme funding, is a business-focused Non-Departmental Public Body set up by Government to drive forward innovation and applied technology to benefit the UK economy. The Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills is the Technology Strategy Board’s sponsor department.
  • The Technology Strategy Board will target funding of £190 million this year to support technology and innovation development. From 2005-2008, £320 million in funding will be available to businesses to support research and development in key technology areas. Since the start of the Government’s Technology Programme in 2004, over 600 projects across 40 technology areas have been supported, with a combined business and Government investment worth over £900m. For further information: http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/technologystrategyboard.
  • The National Aerospace Technology Strategy (NATS) is a joint Government and industry initiative which defines research and development priorities to maintain a globally competitive UK aerospace industry over the next 20 years. It represents a partnership between industry, national and regional government and the research base, aimed at ensuring the UK aerospace industry has the technology capability for success.