Although the aerospace industry finds itself in unprecedented times, at GKN Aerospace we have much to be excited about. Over the past 12 months we have maintained an important balance, with a firm focus on our short-term priorities in response to the corona virus pandemic, alongside continued support for our longer term strategic interests. For GKN Aerospace this means technology and innovation.
In the South West we continued at pace with the construction and readying of our brand new Global Technology Centre (GTC). This is a £32M investment, which is at the heart of our future technology plans in the UK and globally. We have a state-of-the-art facility where several flagship programmes are already up-and-running, with key strategic partners across academia, the supply chain and our customer base. We have world-leading technology experts based in the region, and we are actively recruiting for more. Over the coming months, we will continue to bolster our high quality engineering and technology teams within the South West.
Our ambition is for a better connected, more sustainable world and GKN Aerospace’s technology leadership will be at the heart of that. To support this aim, we are taking the lead in several collaborative technology programs between Government, academia and industry. Each of these programmes are being led from our new Bristol GTC:
H2GEAR – A £54m programme to develop hydrogen based electric propulsion systems.
Safe Flight – A project to explore how we can enable the safe integration of electric VTOL (Vertical Take off and Landing vehicles) in our skies.
SkyBus – Exploring the potential for large-scale electric VTOL transport tobeat congestion in major cities, driving cleaner connectivity in our regions.
ASCEND – A programme focused on achieving sustainable composite solutions to support greener and cleaner aviation and automotive industries .
We are also proud to be heavily involved in FlyZero – an ATI-led collaborative programme exploring sustainable aviation solutions. FlyZero aligns with our core ambition and offers excellent opportunity for GKN Aerospace employees to take up secondment roles, to learn and develop.
GKN Aerospace’s legacy and heritage is significant. We have continually reinvented ourselves over our 260-year history. I am very proud to be part of that history and of the opportunities ahead to continue to explore, to meet our responsibilities as a business and address the future needs of both people and the planet.
