Boeing and Safran have named their Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) joint venture Initium Aerospace.

The 50-50 joint venture will combine the technologies and services of both Boeing and Safran to design, build and service Auxiliary Power Units.

The creation of Initium Aerospace follows the regulatory and antitrust approvals the joint venture received last November, after an agreement was reached in June.

“This is an exciting milestone as we bring together the best of both companies to design and build an advanced APU that will create more lifecycle value for our customers,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO, Boeing Global Services.

“I would like to congratulate everybody at Boeing and Safran who contributed to the creation of this new joint venture,” said Philippe Petitcolin, CEO of Safran. “Initium Aerospace is swiftly capitalising on the vast expertise of both partners to provide state-of-the-art APUs and innovative solutions to customers. Safran is proud and totally invested in supporting Boeing’s growth and operators expectations. We look forward to presenting the first demonstrator engine to the market.”

The initial team consists of employees from the two parent companies and is led by Etienne Boisseau, CEO of Initium Aerospace.

Initial work is being done in San Diego, California, where they are focused on the next-generation APU design as well as collaborating with teams across Boeing and Safran on engineering and production.