French aerospace group Safran has consolidated research and development work for more electric aircraft technology at a new facility in Toulouse. The new premises, which is located immediately next door to Airbus’s main factory at Toulouse Blagnac Airport, now is the headquarters for Safran’s Electrical & Power division, as well as for Safran Engineering Services and local branches of Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Electronics & Defense.
The 270,000-sq-ft (25,000 sq m) complex, which was officially opened last week, represents an investment of approximately $56 million. “We had multiple activities concentrated in this region and this rationalization allows us to better serve our main client Airbus,” explained Safran CEO Philippe Petitcolin. The move also allows the group to bring several of its core engineering teams under one roof in a bid to achieve more synergies between research efforts. The focus of Safran’s R&D work has been on new ways to generate and distribute electrical power throughout aircraft
“This will improve our ability to pursue innovation in the field of more electric aircraft, which is a very important objective for our group,” said Petitcolin. “There is more electrical power on aircraft now and this trend is only going to increase.”
Safran’s new laboratory is developing a variety of new technologies for next generation airliners, including electrical cabling that is lighter and with more resistance, while also being better adapted to use with the composite materials that are increasingly found in modern airframes. The Electrical & Power division engineers are also developing techniques for predictive maintenance of aircraft power systems to avoid failures. Augmented reality techniques are being employed to improve the quality of cabling with the goal of reducing the amount of time it takes to identify problems by as much as 80 percent.
Beyond its work on more electric aircraft concepts, Safran is investing in other new facilities, while also modernizing several existing sites. For example, during 2017 the company will open its new $83 million factory in Queretaro, Mexico, where it will make composite structures for the CFM International Leap engine (for which Safran is partnered with GE Aviation).
In Bordeaux, Safran is spending approximately $79 million to build a new research and development center for ceramic matrix composite manufacturing. Also in southwestern France at Tarnos, the Safran Helicopter Engines facility (formerly Turbomeca) is being comprehensively modernized at a cost of around $67 million with a view to reopening in 2018.