NEW DELHI: Aircraft engine major
GE Aerospace
is betting big on India by increasing its exports from the country “20 times” in just five years from pre-Covid 2018 to 2022. It is developing the next gen “open fan architecture” engines that promise to make flying 20% more fuel efficient by middle of next decade at its John F Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC) in Bengaluru.
Currently having over 1,300 engines in India with 2,000 more (along with CFM, its JV with French major Safran) on order that will be delivered over the next nine years, the company is open to having an engine MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) here at the right time.
“India is not just a big market with huge potential for us to grow, it also has the right talent, making it an integral part of our supply chain. Exports from our 13 Indian suppliers, including
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd
(TASL), have grown 20 times from 2018 to 2022. These parts are used in the making of our engines. We have been part of India’s aerospace ecosystem for 40 years now and are growing very rapidly,” GE Aerospace CEO (South Asia) Vikram Rai told TOI. However, he did not disclose the value of exports from India.
GE Aerospace signed a multi-year contract with TASL in November 2022. Under this contract, the Tata company will produce commercial aircraft engine components worth $1 billion and supply them to GE’s global engine manufacturing factories.
“As of now, we have over 1,310 engines in India, operating on Boeing 787 Dreamliners, B777s, and Airbus A320neo family planes with airlines like Air India, IndiGo, and Vistara. Indian carriers currently have 1,100–1,200 planes on order. GE Aerospace and CFM will be delivering 2,000 engines over the next 8–9 years, at the rate of one aircraft equipped with our engines per week during that period,” Rai said.
Once the company reaches a certain threshold of engines in India, it will have a viable case for establishing an MRO facility in the country. “We continue to evaluate an engine MRO here,” he said.
The company is also working on developing next-gen
open fan architecture
engines that promise to be 20% more fuel-efficient. “A significant portion of the research for this CFM RISE program is happening at our Bengaluru facility. These engines, initially being developed for narrow-body planes, are expected to become a reality by the middle of the next decade,” he added.
CFM had in June 2021 launched the “revolutionary innovation for sustainable engines” (RISE) programme to demonstrate advanced technologies for the next generation of engines that use 20% less fuel and produce 20% fewer CO2 emissions. Engineers at JFWTC are working on sustainable aviation technologies including program under RISE, hydrogen and hybrid electric. “Efforts are to demonstrate and mature a range of new, disruptive technologies for future engines that could enter service by the mid-2030s. The teams has performed conceptual and preliminary design, engine mounting systems, clearances, impact & engine dynamics on the RISE Open Fan tech demonstrator,” he said.
