Engineering News

Renowned UK industrial technology group Rolls-Royce announced on Tuesday that it had completed its purchase of Siemens’ eAircraft business. The deal was originally announced in June. eAircraft was the German electrification, automation and digitalisation group’s electric and hybrid-electric aerospace propulsion unit.

“We are very pleased with the rapid execution of the necessary legal and procedural steps to complete this acquisition,” said Rolls-Royce electrical director Rob Watson. “We are welcoming our new colleagues into Rolls-Royce today and look forward to working with them to pioneer new technologies and solutions.”

The British group sees this new acquisition as accelerating its plans to play a leading role in the development of electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aviation – an advance that is being called the “third era” of aviation. “We are at the dawn of the ‘third era’  of aviation, which will bring a new class of quieter and cleaner air transport to the skies, and our new colleagues will add vital skills, expertise and new technology to our portfolio.”

The former Siemens facilities are based in Germany and Hungary, and employ some 180 electrical design and engineering specialists. The facilities and personnel will remain in their current locations.

“The technology portfolio and skills we have acquired complement our existing developments in electrification, which include micro-grids and hybrid-electric trains as well as aerospace applications,” highlighted Rolls-Royce chief technology officer Paul Stein. The UK group’s new unit is focused on the development of a number of hybrid-electric and all-electric aerospace propulsion systems.

“Electrification is just one of the ways in which we are making aviation more sustainable,” he pointed out. “We are continuing to increase the fuel efficiency of our gas turbines; increasing the integration between airframe and engine; and encouraging the development of sustainable fuels.”