French engine manufacturer Snecma has secured a €300 million ($419 million) loan to help fund the development of a new generation of narrowobdy powerplants.
Snecma parent Safran Group signed at the Paris Air Show today a €300 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Safran says in a statement the funds will be used as part of a new €600 million aircraft engine research and development (R&D) project.
Safran adds Snecma aims to develop a replacement to the CFM International CFM56 for 110 to 210-seat single-aisle aircraft which will offer a 16% reduction in fuel consumption, a 60% reduction in nitrogen oxides and a 10 to 20 decibel reduction in noise. Snecma and GE now jointly produce the CFM56, which powers Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 narrowbodies as well as the Airbus A340 widebody.
Safran says the new R&D project will also include developing open rotor technology which could reduce both fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by over 20%.
CFM is already working on open rotor technology through its new LEAP-X narrowbody engine.
Safran says the EIB loan is the first loan that has been granted to the aerospace industry as part of the European Clean Transport Facility (ECTC), a financing programme that was launched by the EIB in December. The programme, which has already involved loans to manufacturers in the automotive industry, is designed to support Europe's economic recovery plan and Europe's fight against climate change.
Safran CEO Jean-Paul Herteman says the loan "will help us finance R&D breakthroughs for a new generation of aircraft engines. The technological breakthroughs of this programme, a major one for Safran, are the result of extensive and ongoing basic research."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
