GE IN INDIA
23 highlights from the year 2023
2023 was a year of milestones for GE.
From a landmark deal in commercial aviation to powering the industry's first wide-body aircraft on a long-haul route fuelled by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), from producing the 50,000th wind turbine blade in India to accelerating the grid transition with a suite of intelligent applications, GE demonstrated its commitment to innovation and sustainability in India.
As we now prepare for GE’s transition to GE Vernova and GE Aerospace, we will continue to accelerate the path to more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy and create the future of flight.
Here’s a look at 23 highlights from the year.
1. Partnering Amplus Solar for its first onshore wind project in India
GE Vernova was selected to supply and commission 40 units of its 2.7-132 onshore wind turbines for Amplus Solar’s first wind project in Tamil Nadu, India.
2. Powering a record aircraft order
Air India, part of Tata Sons, signed a firm order for 40 GEnx-1B and 20 GE9X engines, plus a multi-year TrueChoice™ engine services agreement.
Watch the message from Tata Group Chairman, N Chandrasekaran as he speaks of the Tata – GE relationship of many decades and the strategic importance of the announcement.
3. Strengthening defense cooperation
GE Aerospace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force, a major milestone amidst Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the United States and a key element in strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries.
4. Powering the first wide-body aircraft on a long-haul route to India using Sustainable Aviation Fuel
GE Aerospace’s GEnx aircraft engines powered the industry’s first wide-body aircraft on a long-haul route using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to India. Vistara, India’s full-service carrier and a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, operated the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner ferry flight from Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States, to New Delhi, India, using a blend of 30% SAF with conventional jet fuel.
5. Accelerating energy transition in India
To provide advanced powering solutions for India’s gas power sector, GE Vernova’s Gas Power business and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) announced the continuation of their long-term cooperation with the fourth extension of the Technical Assistance and License Agreement including scope for the engineering and manufacturing of heavy-duty gas turbines in India.
6. Continuing the collaboration with Aeronautical Development Agency for indigenous fighter programs
GE collaborated with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to develop the India-specific variant of F404, the IN20, that powers the current fleet of LCA Mk1 and Mk1A. Dr. Girish S Deodhare, Distinguished Scientist, Director General, ADA spoke about the experience of collaborating with GE for indigenous fighter programs over the last 40 years.
7. Providing digital solutions for LM2500 gas turbines for Indian Navy’s new IAC-1 Vikrant
GE’s local subsidiary in India was under contract with Cochin Shipyard Limited to provide a comprehensive digital solutions package to enhance the capabilities of the LM2500 marine gas turbines that power the Indian Navy’s IAC-1 Vikrant, which was commissioned in August 2022.
8. Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day
Meet the women engineers at GE in India who are helping build a better tomorrow.
9. Accelerating grid transformation
GE Digital and Infosys partnered to bring innovative and scalable solutions to the utilities industry to accelerate grid transformation for their new and existing clients. The solutions will help grid operators realise a more reliable and sustainable grid. This will be driven by a grid orchestration software platform and a suite of intelligent applications that bring together energy data, network modeling, and artificial intelligence.
10. Producing the 50,000th wind turbine blade in India
LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, completed the production of the 50,000th wind turbine blade at its manufacturing site in Vadodara, Gujarat. The milestone demonstrated the company's commitment towards clean and sustainable energy.
11. Holding Pride Walks across twelve campuses
In celebration of Pride month and to extend its support towards the LGBTQIA+ community, GE organized Pride walks across twelve of its campuses in India. These walks witnessed a significant turnout, with more than 1600 GE employees, allies, and community members actively participating at various GE campuses in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Hosur, Pallavaram, Dabaspet, Padappai, three locations in Vadodara and two in Noida.
12. Welcoming Mohamed Ali, Vice President of Engineering at GE Aerospace, to JFWTC
We caught up with Mohamed Ali, during his visit to India. He shared insights on the 360-degree engineering opportunities you get working at GE’s India Technology Center in Bengaluru.
13. Commemorating 100 years of engineering excellence
14. Celebrating Earth Week by creating seed balls for re-growing forests
Our team at the John F. Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC) in Bengaluru got into the Earth Week spirit by rolling up their sleeves and making hundreds of seed balls! These were used for replantation in a forest area. The efforts were part of the larger '70K Acts of Service' initiative undertaken by GE Vernova.
15. Bringing lean practitioners together
Larry Culp, chairman and CEO of GE and CEO of GE Aerospace, explored the close relationship between lean mindsets and leadership alongside senior executives from some of the world’s most innovative companies, successful entrepreneurs, and champion athletes in New York City. “The Lean Mindset: The Pursuit of Progress” was a first-of-its-kind event organized by GE.
16. Reporting our progress on sustainability initiatives
We released our 2022 sustainability report where we shared how innovation drives our businesses to address pressing sustainability challenges: driving decarbonization through the energy transition and smarter and more efficient future of flight.
17. Assessing progress on aviation industry sustainability goals
A survey, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of GE Aerospace, showed an overwhelming majority of companies say they are turning sustainability words into action. 76% of respondents believed sustainability had fundamentally changed the way the industry operates and a majority of those with sustainability strategies in place indicated that their company sustainability investments would grow or remain steady.
18. Expanding marine gas turbine manufacturing
GE Marine and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the expansion of HAL’s manufacturing capabilities to include assembly, inspection, and testing (AIT) of the LM500 marine gas turbine.
19. Developing GE Hydro Solutions' local manufacturing capability
GE Hydro Solutions' annual supplier meeting in Vadodara, India brought together over 75 suppliers, 25% more than last year. Suppliers' GE share of business witnessed significant growth, with many of them expanding by 2-4 times over the past three years.
20. Showcasing our latest sustainability technologies at COP28
Building on GE’s 131-year legacy, our future independent public companies, GE Vernova and GE Aerospace discussed and demonstrated advanced technologies at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
21. Fostering growth and collaboration at the GE Aerospace partner conference
GE Aerospace hosted its partner conference at our Multi-modal Factory (MMF) in Pune. The event brought together over 120 industry leaders, many of whom have been integral since the inception of MMF in 2015. Throughout the years, collaborative efforts with our partner ecosystem have significantly contributed to the success of the ‘Make in India’ journey.
22. Immersing in the spirit of Lean with Shingijutsu Kaizen
Teams from across GE Aerospace came together to celebrate the spirit of Lean at our MMF facility in Pune. The event was based on the Shingijutsu principle aimed at accelerating multiple, simultaneous Kaizens (continuous improvement) to rapidly improve several processes. The Sensei (master) helped each team to perform Lean workouts and achieve Kaizen goals across six different projects.
23. Commemorating 23 years of John F. Welch Technology Center (JFWTC)
JFWTC turned 23 this year. Established on 17th September 2000 in Bengaluru, it is an integrated multidisciplinary research and development center. This 50-acre campus houses research, engineering and digital technology teams that are working on cutting-edge technologies and product innovations.
