Boeing Opens Research & Technology Center in Japan

Nagoya center to develop sustainable technologies to support the decarbonization of aviation – Effort focusing on digital simulation toolset, composites, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen fuel

Boeing [NYSE: BA] last week opened a Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) Center in Japan that will focus on innovation to enable the commercial aviation industry meet its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Japan is renowned for its strength in engineering and technology, and its dedication to reducing aviation’s impact on our planet aligns with our own,” said Boeing Chief Technology Officer Todd Citron. “We look forward to originating research in Nagoya that will benefit Japan and the world.”

Focus areas include:

• Model-based engineering and manufacturing technology integration: Incorporating the latest digital simulation toolset into every aspect of design and production.
• Composites: Producing lightweight composites at higher rate with less environmental impact and finding novel ways to recycle composite material.
• Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF): Further advancing Boeing’s global commitment to ensure its commercial airplanes will be compatible with 100% SAF by 2030, and supporting Japan in establishing a thriving local SAF ecosystem.
• Hydrogen technology integration project: Exploring the feasibility of integrating hydrogen fuel-cell systems into an airplane.

The Nagoya BR&T center also features a robotics lab where engineers can explore ways to help improve worker safety, ergonomics and quality in Boeing production.

Boeing Japan’s Supply Chain and Supplier Quality teams are co-located in the facility, supporting efficiencies with the BR&T team in developing innovative solutions.

“Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to growing our presence in Japan, which already has our largest supplier base outside of the U.S.,” said Will Shaffer, president of Boeing Japan. “Together with our Japanese partners we will continue to support production and sustainment across our portfolio of commercial and defense aircraft; invest in digital engineering and advanced manufacturing capabilities to create a more resilient and competitive industry; and together drive sustainability and innovation, forge new partnerships, and find new ways to collaborate.”

This is the twelfth BR&T Center internationally that leverages global source technology. Our global centers improve the yield of Boeing research and development investments. As the advanced central research and development organization of The Boeing Company, Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) provides innovative technologies that enable the development of future aerospace solutions while improving the cycle time, cost, quality and performance of existing Boeing products and services.