MTU Aero Engines will be taking a four-percent workshare in General Electric’s GE9X program. The German engine manufacturer will be manufacturing and assuming design responsibility for the engine’s turbine center frame. Taken over the life of the program, the workshare will be worth around four billion euros in revenue for MTU.
The new engine will be designed to exclusively power Boeing’s 777X long-haul airliner, which is slated to enter service around 2020. 300 aircraft are already on firm order or option. The contractual details still need to be finalized between the parties to the deal. MTU will participate in the engine’s sales and profits in proportion to its program share.
“Our stake in the GE9X program gives us a significant market share in one of the most important next-generation engines in the upper thrust category. At the same time, it helps us further balance the mix of our product portfolio,” explains MTU CEO Reiner Winkler. “Some 30 percent of today’s active aircraft have MTU modules on board. We are going to increase this share in the worldwide engine fleets appreciably over the next five to ten years.”