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.

FMI: www.volvo.com