The UK government has pledged £218 million in funding towards aerospace projects to help the nation lead the way on greener air travel.
Speaking at the 2023 Paris Air Show – the world’s largest event for the civil aerospace sector – Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani said the money will be used to develop new green innovative landing gear and lower carbon and more efficient aircraft wings, engines and sensors.
Delivered through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, the funding aims to secure more high-skilled jobs and increase investment in aerospace technology across the UK.
“We’re growing the economy and supporting high-skilled, high-wage careers across the UK by backing our world-leading sectors like aviation,” said Ghani.
“We want to achieve net zero air travel by 2050, and I want UK firms to lead the way developing the exciting technologies of the future. Backing our innovators will attract even more investment and create massive export opportunities for British firms.”
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The cash injection will support ten groundbreaking new projects led by world-renowned companies including Airbus and Rolls-Royce. They will be delivered alongside over 40 UK-based partners.
The ATI Programme is a joint government and industry investment. Its purpose is to competitively offer funding for research and technology development in the UK, to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace and accelerate the transition to net zero aviation.
The projects
iBREAK
A £22.5 million Airbus & partners collaborative project focused on how to manufacture landing gear components to increase competitiveness.
LandONE
A £37.8 million Airbus & partners collaborative project to deliver a design solution for new lighter, lower maintenance and greener landing gear systems, using digital methods.
Next Wing
A £19.3 million Airbus & partners collaborative project aiming to use digital and virtual tools to shorten the design process for new wings.
ONEHEART
A £42 million Airbus & partners collaborative project aiming to shorten the development time for new aircraft using digital technology.
DELTA
A £20.8 million Airbus & partners collaborative project using digital technologies to drive production efficiency, lower recurring costs and cycle times for wing manufacture.
DQP
A £14 million Alloyed-led project to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing materials into service.
OLLGA
A £6.4 million Safran Landing-led project focused on how to assess the ‘Remaining Useful Life’ for landing gear, improving aircraft availability and reducing operations/maintenance costs.
ARRP
A £6.4 million CloudNC-led project to improve computer-assisted manufacturing of aerospace parts made by titanium and aluminium.
BETA
A £17.7 million Rolls-Royce-led project to mature high-strength titanium alloys and develop smaller and lightweight gas turbine components.
MUSIC
A £31.4 million Rolls-Royce-led project to develop a portfolio of manufacturing technologies for the growing civil large propulsion and power system market.