Siemens and Rolls-Royce signed an agreement at the International Paris Air Show in Le Bourget (France) for the sale of Siemens’ eAircraft unit. Through its Vision 2020 company strategy, The company’s business with electric and hybrid-electric systems for aircraft will have substantially better growth perspectives with new owners closely connected to the aerospace industry. Closing is subject to the usual conditions and is expected to take place in late 2019.
“Our eAircraft team, under the leadership of Frank Anton, has made aviation history several times in the past ten years,” said Roland Busch, CTO and COO of Siemens AG. “With Rolls-Royce, we’ve found a perfect home for this business and have placed its expertise in the hands of one of Airbus’ close partners.”
Siemens eAircraft develops electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for the aerospace industry. At locations in Munich and Erlangen (Germany) and Budapest (Hungary), the unit has been cooperating with partners like Airbus to create prototypes for propulsion systems. To further drive the technology, eAircraft entered a development partnership with Airbus in 2016. Siemens has been researching and developing electric aircraft propulsion systems for about ten years, setting several records along the way.
