Doosan Enerbility is making its entry into the aircraft engine business, leveraging its accumulated expertise in power generation gas turbines to broaden its business domain and secure differentiated gas turbine technology.
On March 26, Doosan Enerbility announced that it had added “aircraft engine manufacturing, propulsion system auxiliary component production, maintenance, sales, and services” to its business objectives during its regular shareholders’ meeting for March 27.
Doosan Enerbility succeeded in independently developing a power generation gas turbine in 2019, becoming the world’s fifth entity to achieve this milestone. Power generation gas turbines and aircraft engines share a similar technological foundation, structure, and operating principles. The company plans to utilize the design, manufacturing, and material technology developed through the creation of large power generation gas turbines in the development of aircraft engines.
The company has also secured key cooling and coating technologies essential for aircraft engines. Since aircraft engines can reach extreme temperatures of 1,500°C upon ignition, technology capable of withstanding these conditions is crucial. Doosan Enerbility owns technology that can withstand temperatures up to 1,680°C. Additionally, the company highlighted its strengths, including capabilities in developing core materials for high-temperature components, various intellectual properties (IP) and databases, in-house design, manufacturing, testing infrastructure, and advanced engineering expertise.
Doosan Enerbility’s venture into aircraft engines is already underway, participating in government-led projects such as “Development of Engine Component Technology for Drones” and “Advanced Aircraft Engine Conceptual Design.” In a drone-specific gas turbine engine development project led by the Agency for Defense Development, the company is responsible for two tasks, including “Turbine Vane/Blade Casting Production and Post-processing,” aiming to complete the preliminary design by 2027. The company is also engaged in the advanced aircraft engine conceptual design commissioned by the government to secure independent domestic fighter jet engine technology.
South Korea is striving for the domestic production of aircraft engines. Despite joint efforts by the government and private companies, the country still lacks the technology to independently design and manufacture aircraft engines. Currently, only a few developed countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, possess the capability to develop aircraft engines. The development of aircraft engines is crucial for the advancement of the aviation industry and the independence of aviation weapon systems.
With Doosan Enerbility throwing its hat into the ring of the aircraft engine business, the pace of domestic aircraft engine development is expected to accelerate. Competition with other companies that manufacture certain parts of aircraft gas turbine engines through licensing in Korea is anticipated. Companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), and Korean Air are producing engine parts and wing structures, supplying them to major global airlines like Boeing and Airbus. Doosan Enerbility plans to accelerate the development of aircraft, particularly drone engines.