TIDCO & GE to establish Centre of Excellence for Aviation Research in Tamil Nadu

• An investment of about ₹141.26 crores over five years is proposed to be co-funded by TIDCO and GE
• The Centre of Excellence will work towards researching and developing new technologies in Additive Manufacturing

New Delhi. 18 April 2022. GE Aviation, a world leader in aircraft engines and technology development, has partnered with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (TIDCO) to set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in emerging technologies. Governed by the special purpose entity (SPV) of TIDCO, the CoE aims to create an ecosystem of advanced research and development using additive technologies.

The CoE comes after both organizations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2021. An investment of about ₹141.26 crores over five years was proposed to be funded by TIDCO and GE in two phases.

The CoE will work towards technology development of aviation engine parts such as compressor heat exchangers, combustor components, casing, frames, gears, and splines. It will also take up projects in development of predictive analytical solutions for additive manufacturing (AM) for industry 4.0. The CoE will aim to develop Indian intellectual property for the AM technologies including materials, machines, design software to provide specific technology solutions.

Talking about the collaboration, Thiru B. Krishnamoorthy, IOFS, Additional Secretary and Project Director, TIDCO said, “The GE partnership with Government of Tamil Nadu is a significant milestone in the growth of the aerospace and defense ecosystem in the State. With the establishment of this facility Tamil Nadu will emerge as an aerospace and defense hub for research and development and advanced manufacturing of aerospace parts. The partnership with GE will help attract investments in the defense and aerospace sector for the State.

Vikram Reddy, General Manager, Aviation Engineering, GE said, “GE will bring its rich 100-year aerospace experience to this CoE. The CoE can leverage GE’s technology and research capabilities in an agile environment. GE’s team will be backed by its India technology center team located in Bangalore, and which has been working on aerospace technology design development for over 20 years.”

Recently the India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology rolled out a national strategy for Additive Manufacturing (AM) to encourage collaboration between government, industry, and academia with the goal of making India a global hub for design, development and deployment of 3D printing.

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing technology whose adoption is increasing at rapid pace in industries like aerospace, automotive and healthcare. Unlike conventional manufacturing, AM can enable complex designs without additional cost burden. It offers unprecedented geometrical freedom and can, therefore, not only enable significant design innovation but also produce an assembly of several different parts as a single unit.