Comoti – Major Player in European Aviation, Energy and Environmental R&D

COMOTI is a valued EU partner. Valentin Silivestru, COMOTI’s President, explains, “We have launched many projects with European organisations recently, including the COBRA initiative which aims to find a way to decrease the fuel consumption of aircraft engines by around 30%. This is a very important and challenging goal. COMOTI is also working with the Romanian and European space agencies in several projects, and we have built a state-of-the-art new facility with the support of EU funds to expand our research capacity.”

Cutting-edge facility for R&D on gas-turbine engines

The new facility is COMOTI’s Gas Turbine Experimentation Complex (EXTURBO), which is designed to provide the ideal conditions for R&D on gas-turbine aircraft engines. The complex includes a specialised cell for testing turbojet engines, a concrete and steel cell for turboshaft testing up to 5000 kW, a cell for testing micro-gas-turbine engines, a workshop for pre-testing gas-turbine engines, and a joint command room. The complex features the latest equipment and technologies from European suppliers.

COMOTI also received EU funding for its autoclave for composite materials polymerisation, which employs cutting-edge technology to manufacture polymeric composite materials. Through autoclave technology, COMOTI can create lightweight but strong and durable products for the aerospace, aeronautical and automotive industries.

A partner in SILENCE(R) project

COMOTI regularly partners with international companies, research institutes and universities, including the UK’s City University of London and Manchester Metropolitan University in a project on noise reduction and perception. COMOTI’s partnerships with EU companies have led to innovative new products. Valentin Silivestru says, “We have been working with Germany’s GHH Rand for 18 years and we have developed a high-pressure compressor with them that we are now marketing worldwide. For French enterprise Labinal, we designed and produced test benches for new, high-speed starter generators to be used in aviation. Labinal is very satisfied with the products and we hope to continue this cooperation.”

Highly respected in Europe for its expertise, COMOTI has played a leading role in many high-profile EU projects, including the Clean Sky initiative and SILENCE(R), a European research programme aimed at finding ways to reduce noise pollution by aircraft. SILENCE(R), involving 50 partners and budgeted at over €112 million, was the first major EU research project on aviation engines in which a Romanian organisation participated, and COMOTI was the only partner from the former Soviet bloc. The project involved developing a new, double-flow turbojet engine with high dilution. Strengthening its capacity to work in the fast-growing field of noise reduction, COMOTI has employed EU funds to create an acoustics laboratory equipped with the latest high-end equipment which allows for complex acoustics testing.

Other international partners working with COMOTI include General Electric (US), Nuovo Pignone (Italy), Germany’s MTU Aero Engines and the German Space and Aviation Institute, and France’s SNECMA, Airbus, Onera and Vibratec. COMOTI’s partners can call on the institute for on-demand manufacturing, technical assistance, assembly, overhauling and repairs, all tailored to fit each client’s particular needs. In all its activities, COMOTI meets the highest global standards, and it has achieved ISO certification for quality management, environmental management, occupational health and safety systems, and information-security-management systems.

Seeking international researchers and specialists

One priority for COMOTI is to attract European and international specialists and researchers to work in the institute. COMOTI offers ideal conditions for skilled professionals thanks to the institute’s major investments in equipment and technologies along with COMOTI’s involvement in some of the most ambitious R&D projects currently underway in Europe.

Valentin Silivestru points out, “Because of Romania’s former economic situation, many fine researchers left the country, and we want to invite them to come back and work with us. We also welcome specialists and researchers from all over the world. We can offer an excellent work environment and competitive salaries. Also, we offer the chance to participate in leading-edge projects, like the COBRA project involving the EU and Russia.” He adds that COMOTI has recently invested in new equipment to produce parts for the space industry and new laboratories and equipment for metallurgy R&D, all of which represent an outstanding opportunity for researchers.

Expertise in many cutting-edge fields

Although COMOTI’s traditional focus is the aerospace industry, the institute is responding to demand for new energy solutions and environmental technologies, and it is stepping up its work with gas turbines to be used in industrial applications. For example, COMOTI has developed and manufactures recovery and compression equipment for natural gas to be employed in crude-oil extraction facilities. As Valentin Silivestru points out, “COMOTI has experience in many areas related to turbo machinery, and we have multidisciplinary teams.”