(Photo: Pratt & Whitney)

NEW YORK & FARNBOROUGH, England — U.S. aluminum giant, Alcoa has announced a  $1.1 billion deal with Pratt & Whitney to supply jet engine components. This 10-year deal will include the worlds first lightweight aluminum alloy fan blade.

This new deal was announced and signed at the Farnborough Airshow. Alcoa said in a statement it had developed the forging for the new aluminum fan blade for Pratt & Whitneys PurePower engines, using an advanced aluminum alloy and a proprietary manufacturing process. Some of the engines Alcoa will be providing parts for include Pratt & Whitneys PurePower PW1000G, V2500, Gp7000 and several other regional get and millitary engines.

“We’re going wher no materials scientist has gone before,” said Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Klaus Kleinfeld. We cracked the code on forging an aluminum fan blade that is lighter and enables better fuel efficiency.”

Aircraft engine fan blades have traditionally been made of titanium with composite designs increasingly becoming popular to save weight.

(Photo: Pratt & Whitney)

Pratt & Whitney’s advanced gear system allows the fan to rotate at a slower speed and the hot section to operate at higher speeds, optimizing the running conditions of both. The large, light-weight fan moves more than 90 per cent of the air around the core, delivering a very quiet engine with very low fuel burn. The larger fan diameter also opened the door to materials beyond titanium and composites.

Alcoa plans to use aluminum and aluminum-lithium from its Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Lafayette, Indiana facilities for the front fan blades, which will be produced using proprietary manufacturing processes at its Cleveland, Ohio plant.

With over 5,000 engines sold before aircrafts are set for service bodes well for Alcoas success in the aerospace industry. The agreement will work towards expanding Alcoa’s strategic growth strategy into the aerospace industry. Revenues for 2013 were reported at $4 billion, and the company intends to move away from aluminum mining and smelting into producing more high-value goods. In June, Alcoa announced that it has come to an agreement to acquire Firth Rixson, a leading British manufacturer of jet engine components, for nearly $3 billion.

For more information visit www.alcoa.com/farnborough.

SOURCE Business Wire