Pratt & Whitney Canada launches $1-billion R&D program with $300-million SADI loan

Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) will launch another $1-billion engine development project with $300 million in assistance from the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI). The project will be split over the company's Longueuil and Mississauga locations (65/35) and focus on a new-generation compression system for business jet engines, turbo shafts for helicopters, rotor control systems and new production techniques in the areas of robotics, additive manufacturing and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).

The project will take 4.5 years and aims to reduce the fuel consumption, weight and emissions of its new propulsion systems. P&WC is currently investing $275 million in a new centre of excellence for intelligent manufacturing in Longueuil to produce complex components for its PurePower generation of engines.

"This is a continuation of what we started although there are differences in the technology types," says P&WC president John Saabas. "We have a 5-to-15 year roadmap."

The SADI assistance is repayable and is the second $300-million loan the company has received in the past four years. Despite charges of "corporate welfare", Saabas says government risk sharing is a critical component of operating in a globally competitive environment.

"It allows us to manage our profitability and defer payback until the market introduces these new technologies," says Saabas. "We have to go to our parent (Hartford CT-based United Technologies Corp) to negotiate a business plan and budget. Support from government gives us long-term predictability."

Saabas says the environment for operating a large, multinational aerospace company in Canada has improved in recent years. Changes flowing from recommendations contained in the 2012 Aerospace Advisory Council report have resulted in new mechanisms and, perhaps more importantly, a greater awareness of the aerospace sector.

"The government is much better educated about what we do," says Saabas. "It understands the benefit and has resulted in global benchmarking and a level playing field."

A small but key component of the latest R&D project is a $10-million annual commitment to collaborating with Canadian universities, focusing on early-stage, pre-competitive research. Much of that collaboration will take place through the new, SADI-supported Consortium for Aerospace Research and Innovation in Canada (CARIC).

"This is for nascent-type technologies ... from MEMS to additive manufacturing to technologies for high-strength alloys," says Saabas. "It gives us exposure to SME (small- and medium-sized enterprise)-side technologies in the development phase."

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