At the Farnborough Air Show in July, Boeing announced that the "US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), through its Continuous Lower Energy Emissions Noise (CLEEN) Program, recently awarded Boeing a $25 million matching cost contract" for development and flight test of emerging technologies related to fuel efficiency, noise reduction, and operational efficiency. One of the emerging technologies to be flight-tested by Boeing is a ceramic matrix composite acoustic engine nozzle that offers the potential for lower weight, longer life, and greater noise abatement than current metallic engine nozzles.

Albany Engineered Composites, Inc., a subsidiary of Albany International Corp., was recently selected by Boeing as the supplier of a ceramic matrix composite substrate for the new engine nozzle concept. Product supplied by Albany to Boeing for use on the CLEEN Program will be based on Albany's reinforced preform technology. Boeing has announced that it will perform a flight test on the new ceramic matrix composite nozzle in 2013 on a twin-aisle aircraft.