Purdue Research Foundation's first development in its new aerospace district will house a research and development team from Rolls-Royce, officials announced Wednesday.
PRF unveiled plans to build a 44,000-square-foot facility where Rolls-Royce Corp. will develop and test jet engines, collaborate with Purdue researchers and create a pipeline for graduates to employment opportunities within the company, said Danny Warner, a company executive.
"I've spent a lot of the last few years coming back and forth to try to look at opportunities between Purdue and Rolls-Royce or just to pay back a little bit of what Purdue gave me," said Warner, who holds two degrees from the university. "The opportunity to become the first business that's identified with the new aerospace park is really exciting."
Rolls-Royce occupies no other such facility within the United States, Warner noted.
The company will occupy a majority of the building. Remaining space will be available for companies wishing to follow Rolls-Royce's lead, said PRF President Dan Hasler, who oversees tech parks already in operation in West Lafayette, Merrillville, New Albany and Indianapolis.
"I don't necessarily want to have Rolls be the 100 percent occupant of the building," he said, "because I want to have other spaces so when other companies come and want to have a relationship with Purdue, I have a place for them to sit."
How much PRF will pay to build the facility is still unclear, but the number of jobs Rolls-Royce will bring to the area is expected to be marginal.