The Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Combustion System Aerothermal Processes, launched in 1991, acknowledged the significance of the partnership. It provides a unique infrastructure for collaboration and the development of innovative technologies for current and next generation low-emission gas turbine engines. Among the first of the company’s global UTC network, it has grown to become one of its largest and most successful.

The UTC partnership generates a significant annual research income, and the publication of numerous journal and conference papers. In the past five years, the research has also resulted in 15 worldwide patents, and directly informs Rolls-Royce product design – including the entire Trent engine family – with truly global impact.

In addition, the UTC partnership has a strong track record in education. More than 50 students have successfully completed PhDs – an achievement recognised by the award of EPSRC funding, in 2014, for a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Gas Turbine Aerodynamics and, in 2019, for a CDT in Propulsion and Power; both in collaboration with the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and Rolls-Royce as an industrial partner.

This accumulated success has resulted in the £20 million National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology (NCCAT). Opening later this year, on the University’s Science and Enterprise Park, NCCAT will be the UK’s primary hub for the development of future low-emission aero gas turbine combustion technologies.

It will also train the next generation of engineers who will play a key role in developing the advanced technologies needed by the aerospace sector to meet international environmental performance targets.

Ultimately, this will ensure that the partnership continues to deliver world-class impact.