British firm teams up with Imperial College, IIT

British aerospace firm Rolls-Royce has teamed up with India's prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and Britain's Imperial College in a new research project to develop alloys for use in 'greener' aircraft engines.

The research would produce cutting edge products that were both environment-friendly and built for aircraft of the future, British High Commissioner to India Sir Michael Arthur told reporters in Bangalore.

The alloys to be developed by researchers at Imperial College, London, IISC in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, lead to engine components that could replace mechanical moving parts in aircraft,

leading to reduced engine weight and increased energy efficiency.

Rolls-Royce, a British high commission statement said, would collaborate on the project working with teams from Imperial College and the Indian institutes to design 'self-acctuating' components suitable for use in aero engines -- likely to be applied initially to noise and emissions reductions systems.

Tim Jones, MD, Rolls Royce, said it would take a 'couple of years' for developing the alloys and the three participants would share the Intellectual Property.

An agreement on the project had been signed a couple of weeks ago, Jones said, calling it an 'exciting development'.