GE

US-based GE Aviation will invest $200m to build two factories for the production of silicon carbide (SiC) materials.

The materials will be used in ceramic matrix composite components (CMCs) for jet engines and land-based gas turbines in Huntsville, Alabama.

The company will construct them on 100 acres of land. Once operational, the factories are expected to employ up to 300 people.

GE has already begun hiring the technical team for the Huntsville operation.

The proposed factories are expected to mass produce SiC materials. Construction on the plants will begin from next year and are scheduled to be operational by 2018.

One plant will produce SiC ceramic fibre, which is considered to be the first such operation in the US.

"Establishing the new GE factories in Alabama is a very significant step in developing the supply chain we need in order to produce CMC components in large volumes."

The adjacent GE factory in Alabama will use SiC ceramic fibre to produce the unidirectional CMC tape necessary to fabricate CMC components.

GE uses lightweight, heat-resistant CMCs in the hot section of its jet engines, which is considered to be a significant breakthrough for the jet propulsion industry.

GE Aviation CMC programme vice-president Sanjay Correa said: "Establishing the new GE factories in Alabama is a very significant step in developing the supply chain we need in order to produce CMC components in large volumes."

The new factories will be GE Aviation’s second significant factory investment in Alabama in recent years.

Since 2013, the company invested more than $100m in a 300,000ft² factory in Auburn, near the Auburn University campus, where it manufactures jet engine components, including super-alloy machined parts.

Alabama governor Robert Bentley said: "Today’s announcement is important because Alabama is expanding our partnership with a global aviation leader.

"We have prioritised advanced manufacturing in aerospace and aviation, and I appreciate the investment by GE Aviation in this new Huntsville operation."

Image: GE Aviation will build two factories for jet engines and land-based gas turbines in Huntsville, Alabama. Photo: courtesy of CFM International.