Important milestone for Volvo Aero when GEnx engine is certified

The GEnx aircraft engine, in which Volvo Aero plays a major role, has received airworthiness certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "Certification is an important milestone in the work to develop the environmentally adapted aircraft engines of the future. This is the fruit of four years of hard work, involving many," comments Volvo Aero President Olof Persson.

Volvo Aero currently has a role in most large aircraft engines, but in the case of the GEnx the involvement is extra important, since it is the largest the company has ever had in a commercial engine. Volvo Aero has been responsible for product development of three key components and will manufacture six components for the new engine. Volvo Aero expects the GEnx to result in sales of more than SEK 30 billion during the lifetime of the engine.

Development of the three components started in Trollhättan four years ago. At the peak, more than 200 persons were engaged in the project. In addition, during this time Volvo Aero had some ten persons on-site at General Electric, Boeing and at various suppliers.

During the past two years, the GEnx has undergone an extensive ground- and flight-test program. Eight test engines went through 4,800 cycles and more than 3,600 hours of operation.

The engine now certified is designated GEnx-1B. It is intended for the next Boeing aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner. The certification represents a sort of graduation, a clearance for the engine to be used in commercial traffic.

"The ground- and flight-tests validate that the GEnx-1B engine will be the most environmentally responsible aircraft engine, with significantly lower fuel consumption than today's engines, partly due to new lightweight technology from Volvo Aero," says Joakim Andersson, GEnx Project leader at Volvo Aero.

"Certification is an important recognition of our ability to develop products for the commercial market. Our entire product development team should be very proud of their efforts," he says.