Press Release: EIB lends Safran EUR 300 million to develop cleaner aero engines

At the 2009 Paris Air Show, European Investment Bank Vice President Philippe de Fontaine Vive and SAFRAN Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Herteman signed a contract to provide 300 million euros in financing to the SAFRAN group for the development of a new generation of cleaner aircraft engines. The EIB loan will be used to finance Research & Development on aircraft engines that use less fuel and are friendlier to the environment. SAFRAN group company Snecma is aiming to develop a successor to the CFM56 engine (jointly produced with General Electric), designed for single-aisle commercial jets with 110 to 210 seats, that will offer a 16% reduction in fuel consumption, 15 to 20 decibel decrease in noise, and 60% reduction in oxides of nitrogen (NOx). At the same time Snecma is also working on a new technology, the open rotor configuration, that would eventually reduce both fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions by more than 25%. The total cost of the R&D project is estimated at 600 million euros.