Government boost for jet engines with £10m investment for next generation technology

Business Minister Anna Soubry announced that Loughborough University has been awarded nearly £10 million of government funding to create a new open access National Centre of Excellence in Gas Turbine Combustion Aerodynamics. Government Opportunities

The centre will allow UK industry to access state-of-the-art facilities and will lead research and technology development in gas turbine combustion – a central feature of large jet engines.

This funding comes after the government committed an extra £900 million for aerospace R&D, helping to maintain the UK’s position as a global powerhouse in the aerospace sector. The money, announced in the 2015 Spending Review, will be match funded by industry meaning that the total joint commitment is now £3.9 billion from 2013.

Figures released by the aerospace trade body, ADS Group, last week showed that 2015 was a record year for aircraft production showing the importance of supporting aerospace projects like these to meet growing global demand.

The new Centre of Excellence will replace and enhance capability that previously existed at Rolls-Royce. The company is making a contribution to the value of £4 million, embedded in a research environment, enabling industry and academia to accelerate technology innovation and development.

The aim of the Centre will be to research and test new greener and more efficient combustion technologies required to meet emissions targets and drive product competitiveness.

The project has been awarded the money from the joint government and industry funding programme for aerospace R&D, delivered in partnership by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and Innovate UK.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

“The UK aerospace sector is one of our great success stories. It’s an industry which is flying high and provides the highly skilled jobs that are needed to grow our economy. That’s why we have extended our commitment to aerospace R&D by a further £900 million over the next 10 years.

Loughborough University is renowned for its world-leading research in aerospace and engineering. This new Centre of Excellence will deliver the next generation of greener, more efficient gas turbine engines and new projects like this will help maintain our position as a world leader in aerospace and help the industry to maintain its sky high success.”

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