Jun 27 2010
Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop mature technology for Fuel Burn Reduction and test aviation biofuels for use in Honeywell Gas Turbine Engines.
The agreement is valued at approximately $27 million over the five-year life of the agreement, cost shared with the FAA. Honeywell will use its TECH7000 turbofan test engine as the basis for its research. The TECH7000 is a turbofan technology demonstrator that is based on Honeywell's HTF7000 propulsion engine. The five-year contract, awarded under the FAA's Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) Program, covers a 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods.
CLEEN is a joint FAA-Industry program focused on reducing current levels of aircraft noise, greenhouse gas emissions, fuel burn and advancing alternative fuels for aviation use. CLEEN will accelerate maturation of engine and airframe technologies to meet NextGen environmental goals and enable greater mobility. Fuel burn reduction technologies matured in this contract will enable higher engine cycle efficiency through increased operating pressure and turbine inlet temperature.
"To evaluate the use of aviation biofuels in aircraft engines, we will be working with Honeywell's UOP business, a global leader in the development of refining process technologies. UOP has developed technology to convert sources like algae and camelina into Honeywell Green Jet Fuel™, which meets all specifications for jet fuel and offers significant savings in greenhouse gas emissions," said Ron Rich, vice president of Propulsion Systems, Honeywell Aerospace. "This contract will enable the industry to expedite the introduction of these new technologies into current and future aircraft engines, while advancing the introduction of alternative 'drop in' fuels for aviation, with particular focus on renewable options."
Honeywell will be working with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a division of General Dynamics Corporation, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in this contract.