GE Global Research, the technology development division of the General Electric Company (GE), has opened a new environmentally designed 350,000 square feet research building at its technology campus in Bangalore, India. The new building is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certified and will house nearly 2,000 researchers. Currently, GE Global Research employs over 2,800 employees around the world, including 1,900 employees at its center in Niskayuna, New York.
Since 2001, GE has made capital investments totaling $330 million to expand its global research facilities, including large investments in its headquarters in upstate New York, the addition of a new center in Munich, Germany and further expansion of its research operations in Shanghai.
Everyday, GE researchers tackle most pressing challenges, with over 2,500 patents filed in 2008 alone.
Mark Little, senior vice president and director of GE Global Research said, “The engineers and researchers here are part of a network of 30,000 technologists across GE who work to ‘redefine what’s possible.’ They work on healthcare initiatives that save lives. They are working to bring safe drinking water to those who need it. They help develop reliable, clean power for millions of people around the world. They work today to help the future.”
This growth in India complements the strong growth at the company’s Global Research center in US during the past eight years. Since 2001, employment at the Niskayuna, New York facility has grown 15%.
Over the past seven years, GE’s annual research and development expenditures have nearly doubled from $2.3 billion to $4.3 billion. The funding has been directed toward new technologies that are the cornerstone of GE’s future growth plans, including power generation, renewable energy, biosciences and healthcare.
As part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, the company is doubling its level of investment in clean technologies from $700 million in 2005 to over $1.5 billion by 2010. Scientists and engineers at each of GE’s four technology centers are playing a significant role in this campaign, supporting research endeavors in wind and solar power, gas turbine technologies, locomotives, aircraft engines and oil and gas production.
Added Little, “Our mission today is the same as it was when Thomas Edison founded GE. We drive breakthrough technology that the world needs, and that will help our company grow. This latest expansion is just another sign of our commitment to technology and innovation.”