The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded several companies contracts worth more than $100 million combined to build technologies that could help reduce aircraft’s fuel consumption, noise and emissions.
FAA said Friday the awards are part of the third phase of the agency’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise program, a public-private partnership that started in 2010 in support of FAA’s strategy to address climate change-related challenges and reduce aviation’s impact on communities.
Award recipients are General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) aviation business; Honeywell’s (Nasdaq: HON) aerospace business; Pratt & Whitney; Boeing (NYSE: BA); team of Delta TechOps, MDS Coating, GKN Aerospace and America’s Phenix; and Rohr.
“Like our quest for safer skies, making flying sustainable requires us to constantly look for ways to improve,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.
FAA invested $225 million in Phases I and II of the CLEEN program and those investments have led to the development of flight management system algorithms, advanced aircraft wings and jet engine combustion platforms designed to reduce emissions.
The CLEEN Phase III contracts will run for five years and require companies to match or surpass the FAA funding, which could bring the total investment value to at least $200 million.
The agency said it is also pursuing similar agreements with Safran Nacelles and Rolls-Royce.
If you’re interested to know about the national security implications of climate change and how data analytics can inform agencies’ climate adaptation strategies, then check out the Potomac Officers Club’s Bolstering Climate Resilience for National Security Forum coming up on Sept. 14. To register for this forum and view other upcoming events, visit the POC Events page.
