GE has awarded Etihad with technical licenses to use the 360 Foam Wash system to perform engine wash on its fleet of 777 and 787 in-house.
4 February 2021: GE Aviation and Etihad Airways have partnered to launch GE’s 360 Foam Wash to optimize the performance of Etihad’s GE90 and GEnx-1B engines on its Boeing 777 and 787 fleets. The GE’s 360 Foam Wash technique is a groundbreaking jet engine cleaning system alternative to water wash method to optimize engine performance by reducing build-up of deposits, lowering engine exhaust temperatures, and improving engine compressor efficiency which leads to low fuel consumption thereby reducing costs.
The self-contained wash system involves injecting a specially-formulated, proprietary solution that removes dust and dirt particles in the engine. It can be used outdoors as well as in maintenance hangars.
GE has awarded Etihad with technical licenses to use this system to perform engine wash on its fleet of 777 and 787 in-house.
Jean Lydon-Rodgers, Vice President and General Manager of GE Aviation’s After Market Strategic Solutions said, “We are learning more about how our engines operate and how they respond in hot and harsh environments than ever before, and our longstanding relationship with Etihad has been integral to that process. The research that has gone into producing GE’s 360 Foam Wash is a shining example of that.”
Etihad’s Greenliner programme is a prime example of industry collaboration leading to significant fuel saving and reduction of carbon emission. The new foam wash technique is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 7,000 metric ton in 2021 alone as compared to the normal wash method for the combined GEnx-1B and GE90 engine fleets.
Commenting further on the ambitious Greenliner project, Paul Kear, Senior Vice President Technical, Etihad Airways said, “Etihad’s long-term commitment to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 can only be achieved by working with partners across the industry to harness innovation and develop new technologies that will provide real, incremental benefits with a measurable impact on emissions. As we look towards the rest of 2021, there is potential to expand the scope of collaboration for our shared sustainability objectives.”
Through the Greenliner programme, Etihad collaborates with industry leaders including Boeing and GE in a first-of-its-kind ‘eco partnership,’ spearheaded by a specially-themed Boeing 787 Dreamliner powered by GEnx engines to test products, procedures and initiatives designed to reduce aircraft carbon emissions on its fleet of 787s.
