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GE jet engine joint venture to power China's new plane

General Electric

One of the most advanced jet engines soon to enter service has just been selected as the sole western power plant for China’s new C919 single-aisle, 150-seat passenger jet. Made by CFM International, which is a 50/50 joint venture between GE and SAFRAN Group, the engine could end up powering more than 2,000 planes over the next 20 years based on estimates by the developer and manufacturer of the C919, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC. As Bloomberg News reports in its story on December 21, with narrowbody jetliners making up more than 60 percent of all commercial aircraft, “manufacturers have estimated the market for new engines as replacements or on newly designed single-aisle aircraft at $30 billion to $50 billion.”


Up, up and away! The new C919, seen here in this artist’s rendition, is slated to enter service in 2016. Because the new engine will be manufactured at SAFRAN and GE facilities throughout the U.S. and France — including the hot section, or core of the engine, that GE is producing in the U.S. — the deal preserves jobs across the U.S. and E.U. over the next several decades.

Spin class: The high-tech fan for the LEAP-X1C is made out of composite materials and is being developed by SAFRAN’s Snecma engine division. It’s seen here being tested at GE’s Peebles, Ohio facility. The LEAP-X will feature 18 blades, a 50 percent reduction versus the CFM56-5C engine and 25 percent fewer blades than the CFM56-7B. It’s expected to be certified in 2014.

The deal marks a new era for the joint venture, which last year extended its partnership through 2040 in order to power the next-generation of single-aisle commercial aircraft. CFM has already delivered 20,000 engines over four decades — making it the most popular airline jet engine ever. In fact, a CFM-powered airplane takes off every 2.5 seconds.

The engine for China’s new commercial plane is the LEAP-X1C, which has been in development for more than a decade and was built from scratch, as opposed to being a derivative of an existing engine. When it enters service, the LEAP-X1C will be the most fuel-efficient engine in its thrust class, providing double-digit fuel burn improvements over the current CFM56-7B engine.

“We expect that China will become the largest commercial aviation market in the world over the next two decades and it’s exciting for GE to be part of that growth,” said Jeff Immelt, GE’s chairman and CEO. “This historic decision by COMAC will result in decades of collaboration — and is a true testament to innovation and technology that the CFM partnership delivers to the marketplace.” Added David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation: “We are very pleased in COMAC’s confidence in CFM to deliver the most advanced engine from the strongest jet engine partnership in aviation.”

One giant leap: While the GE joint venture CFM will provide the engine, Nexcelle will provide the engine housing and thrust reverser. Nexcelle, in turn, is a 50/50 joint venture between GE’s Middle River Aircraft Systems and SAFRAN Group’s Aircelle.

In recent years, GE Aviation has dramatically expanded its work in China’s aviation industry. GE is already collaborating with COMAC — which was launched in 2008 – with the GE CF34 engine for China’s new ARJ21 regional jet. More than 1,000 airliners in China operate with GE or CFM engines.

* Read today’s announcement
* Read Nexcelle’s release

Learn more in these GE Reports stories:
* “Joint aviation venture with China to create 200 US jobs”
* “China deals span coal, high-speed rail”
* “Brazil’s new Azul airline inks $1B services deal with GE”
* “GE lands $8 billion in orders at Paris Air Show

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