Boeing plans to develop technologies for its next-generation lightweight aircraft that uses electricity to propel through cooperation with Japanese companies, universities, and the government to help global carbon emissions. The proposed collaboration will deepen the involvement of Japan in the aviation industry.
Boeing plans to collaborate with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The Japanese company builds wings for the U.S. aerospace company's 787 Dreamliner and fuselage components for the 777X series of jets.
In the first part of the partnership, the companies plan to focus on electric propulsion. Boeing will cooperate with GS Yuasa in developing batteries to be used in the aircraft. Two companies, Sinfonia Technology, and Tamagawa Seiki will develop the small motors of the plane. The development of superconducting motors will be developed by Kyushu University and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
Lighter materials are needed to run an aircraft on electric motors instead of jet engines. Boeing used carbon fiber composites in the body of the planes to lessen fuel consumption. The world's leading supplier of carbon fibers, Toray Industries, will assist Boeing in developing new inexpensive and easy to mass-produce materials.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Subaru will work with Boeing for automated production. The automatic airframe assembly and other processes are under the cooperation of Mitsubishi Heavy and the industrial robot maker Fanuc. Kawasaki also plans to lend its assistance through its own robotics technology. Boeing plans to integrate the "internet of things" and artificial intelligence to make the production automated.
The development of the plane is also under the cooperation with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. The ministry will secure the ties between the aerospace company and the academia. METI will assist Boeing by introducing the company to developers of electronics and precision-equipment that have the potential to build high-end next-generation aircraft technology. The ministry will provide subsidies to companies that will develop promising technologies.
Japan was prohibited to manufacture planes for seven years after the Allied occupation after World War II. The prohibition delayed the development of Japan's aircraft industry. Japan's auto industry is among the most developed globally. It is home to some of the world's biggest automakers. Japan, however, hasn't produced planes that are equivalent to those developed by Boeing and the Airbus.
Japan's heavy industry is among the most important in the world in supplying airframe structural components and engines. It, however, struggled in manufacturing electrical and other equipment.
