MTU Aero Engines has built a new test center for engine parts on its Munich premises, investing an amount of more than €25 million (US$27.5 million) in a new building and the most advanced test equipment. After two years of construction, the test center is now operational.
With the new test center, MTU not only satisfies its current testing needs, the company has also set its sights on the future. Dr. Jörg Henne, Senior Vice President Engineering and Technology, explained: “We’ve built up the testing capacities we need for our current engine programs – but not without bearing upcoming future requirements in mind.” Plans are to test new materials, new designs and larger structures. Henne also talked about entirely new propulsion systems just emerging on the horizon: commercial engines of the next- and next-but-one generation which will have to meet even more stringent requirements. “Our ultimate goal is emission-free air traffic, and MTU is already pushing the development of innovative green propulsion technologies systematically forward,” Henne said.
An emerging program in the military segment is the Next European Fighter Engine, or NEFE for short. This propulsion system will be developed jointly by MTU and European partners, and its parts will be put through their paces in the new test center in Munich, according to Henne. The facility has been designed such that it can easily be expanded when needed, for example to add floor space or to accommodate new technologies.
