5 Year Deal For Space Propulsion Components
Snecma and Volvo Aero agreed at the Paris Air Show on the basic
principles of a five-year partnership between the two companies in
the field of space propulsion. The agreement between Snecma and
Volvo Aero involves the series production of 37 nozzles and the
same number of turbines, which will be manufactured by Volvo Aero
in Trollhättan from the end of 2009 until mid-2014. For Volvo
Aero, sales of several hundreds of millions of Swedish kronor will
be secured through the agreement.
The signing of the agreement came about after the Swedish
government recently announced that Sweden would continue to
participate in the launch-vehicle program, meaning it will continue
its involvement in the Ariane space program.
“We are extremely pleased with this support from the
Swedish government”, Leif Johansson, Program Director at
Volvo Aero said. “It was a condition for Volvo and
Snecma’s discussions on continuing our partnership. We are
now ready to develop the next generation of Ariane rockets
together.”
The agreement means that Volvo Aero will deliver all nozzles and
turbines for the Vulcain 2 engine of the Ariane 5 rockets.
Accordingly, production in the space propulsion area has now been
secured at Trollhättan for a further five years. At the same
time, Snecma is provided with guarantees for deliveries from Volvo
Aero for the same period of time.
Volvo Aero unveiled also the brand new sandwich nozzle for
future Ariane rocket’s Vulcain 2 engine at the Paris Air
Show. By applying a new welding technology, the new sandwich nozzle
will be significantly less expensive to manufacture, while
simultaneously being more robust and delivering higher performance,
allowing Ariane 5’s payload to increase by 100 kg.
The company has also made substantial progress in its work with
the TPX, a demonstrator for developing turbine technologies with
liquid hydrogen.
“Volvo Aero is already a leader in turbines and nozzles.
We can now proceed with the technological development of
demonstrators for the next generation of Ariane rockets,”
said Leif Johansson.
No new jobs will result from this agreement. However, it will
guarantee work for many of the employees of Volvo Aero’s
space propulsion operations.
Volvo Aero develops and manufactures components for aircraft and
rocket engines with a high technology content in cooperation with
other producers.