Beehive Industries in Knoxville gets $12.4M to 3D print jet engines

Beehive Industries, a company that 3D prints jet engines for unmanned military vehicles, will ramp up production at its Knoxville facility with the help of a new $12.4 million contract sponsored by the U.S. Air Force.

The contract, in partnership with the University of Dayton Research Institute, was announced Oct. 29. It covers the design and production of 30 engines to start, each with around 200 pounds of thrust.

In May, Beehive cut the ribbon on a $4 million, 60,000-square-foot facility in West Knoxville. The Denver-based company plans to add around 20 more Knoxville employees in 2025, company spokesperson Jim Whalen said in an email.

Beehive says it can make high-performance jet engines twice as fast for half the cost, modernizing the U.S. military's air defense. It makes engines for unmanned vehicles, like cruise missiles and drones, which have fewer safety regulations than engines for commercial jets.

Founded in 2020 by a team of engineers and businesspeople with deep experience at GE Aerospace, Beehive employs more than 180 people at facilities in Cincinnati, Denver and Knoxville, all hubs of the defense and aerospace industries. The company has taken advantage of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's expertise in 3D printing, referred to in the industry as "additive manufacturing."

Beehive came to Knoxville when it purchased Volunteer Aerospace in 2021. It maintains Volunteer Aerospace's facility on Schaeffer Road, in addition to its larger space at 10505 Murdock Drive.

GE Aerospace, based in Cincinnati, 3D prints some of its components and is one of the world's largest suppliers of commercial jet engines. With its niche defense focus, Beehive can 3D print nearly an entire jet engine, creating a more secure and fully U.S.-based supply chain within the four walls of its facilities.

Metal powder enters on one side of the facility and a jet engine comes out the other side. The whole process from concept to testing can take as little as 13 months, a fraction of the length of traditional jet engine production timelines.

"Impossible is an opinion," Beehive CEO Mohammad Ehteshami said in a video published by the company.

A former vice president of engineering at GE Aerospace, Ehteshami led development of the world's first 3D-printed part approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The same team at Beehive can oversee design, manufacturing and testing, and team members already have achieved a first of their own. In March, the company became the first to design, build and test a 3D-printed jet engine for the U.S. military after completing successful fire tests, igniting fuel in a 500-pound thrust demonstration engine.

The company aims to develop a family of engines ranging from 100 to 5,000 pounds of thrust that can be mass produced.

Another difference between Beehive's engines for unmanned vehicles compared to commercial jet engines is size. GE's most powerful commercial jet engines, which hold the world record, have 134,300 pounds of thrust.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email [email protected].

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