CLEVELAND, March 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Halon Alternatives for Aircraft Propulsion Systems (HAAPS) consortium recently released a non-government Request-for-Information (RFI) seeking potential suppliers to assist in developing an appropriate, environmentally acceptable replacement for Halon 1301, which is the primary agent currently used to extinguish fires in aviation engines and auxiliary power units (APUs). 

The HAAPS consortium was formed by Airbus SAS, The Boeing Company, Bombardier Inc., Embraer S.A., Textron Inc. and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) as an international collaboration among aircraft manufacturers, fire extinguishing system suppliers, engine/auxiliary power unit/nacelle companies, and other key stakeholders to identify and qualify a common environmentally acceptable non-halon fire extinguishing solution(s) for use in engines and APUs. Halon based fire extinguishing agents have been in use for decades, but new production has been banned by international agreement per the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol – finalized in 1987).

Although considerable effort has been expended by industry aircraft manufacturers, suppliers and fire suppression companies, primarily working independently to find a suitable replacement for Halon 1301, these efforts have not produced a widely accepted replacement.  HAAPS was created to leverage the knowledge, resources and pooled funds of the Members and stakeholders to expedite development and certification of an acceptable solution for new aircraft design and for retrofit of existing engine and APU applications.

The purpose of this initial RFI activity, now closed, was to identify existing products, designs and technologies, as well as new design solutions that meet or approximate the requirements described by the HAAPS Consortium.  Upon review of these initial responses, HAAPS members may conduct further discussions with RFI respondents to obtain more information in order to provide a clearer assessment of the potential solutions. Requests-for-Proposals (RFP) in support of final down selection activities in the last of HAAPS' three phased approach will then be issued as a result of this assessment.  The intent is to include all activities required to evaluate and select non-halon fire extinguishing solution(s) that the HAAPS members could utilize on their aircraft products in production and for retrofit.  Production and retrofit integration and certification activities on a given airplane model will take place after and outside of the consortium. 

The Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, has been selected by the members as the Managing Entity and Administrator for the HAAPS Consortium.  Founded in 1989, OAI is a private non-profit business with over twenty years' experience in the successful development and management of inter-organizational collaborations and consortia among universities, industry and Government agencies to build a network of resources in support of the aerospace industry.

For further information regarding the HAAPS Consortium and this RFI, please contact Don Bailey, OAI's Director for Technology Transition, email: donbailey@oai.org.  

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SOURCE HAAPS