Rolls-Royce will next month submit a bid to the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for a multi-million pound funding package to launch a five-year low-emission Environmentally Friendly Engine (EFE) development programme.
A successor to R-R’s Affordable Near-Term Low Emissions programme, which completed testing last week, EFE will involve a consortium of R-R’s suppliers.
The bid aims to obtain money from the DTI’s £30 million ($54.7 million) Validation of Complex Systems fund, which is available to all industrial sectors.
However, money could also be sourced from the UK’s regional development agencies (RDA), as they must now be involved in state-supported research.
All 12 of the RDAs could be involved in the bid because the company’s suppliers are consortium members. Detailed negotiation for RDA matching funds would begin once the DTI grant had been awarded.
“We would hope that DTI support would be there from the start and the RDA support would be phased in later in the programme,” says Dr David Clark, head of technology strategy at R-R.
Its consortium includes Goodrich and Bombardier. The EFE engine is one of six priority research areas identified by the government/industry Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team.
ROB COPPINGER/DERBY
Source: Flight International
