Source (All Images) | Aeromech

Aeromech (Brisbane, Australia) has announced the opening of the Aeromech Training Centre in Brisbane to deliver advanced composites training for aerospace manufacturing and repair across Australia first, with subsequent expansion to New Zealand, the broader Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. Alongside this launch, the company highlights its flagship “Advanced Composites Aerospace Manufacturing and Repair” training program offering comprehensive training across the full life cycle of composite manufacturing and sustainment.

“This is more than a training center — it’s a strategic capability enabler,” says Joe Bryant, founder and managing director at Aeromech. “Whether you’re starting out or building on years of experience, our programs equip professionals with the technical knowledge and hands-on skills needed to meet modern aerospace requirements.”

The goal, he says, is to address the aerospace and defense skills shortage and build a robust, sovereign workforce — all with minimal disruption to operations through the Training Centre’s portable, turnkey delivery mode. “We bring the same quality training to your location — whether you’re in Brisbane, Darwin, Auckland or anywhere across the region,” says Bryant. “It’s flexible, efficient and always industry-grade.”

Aeromech’s training course was developed by experienced engineers and technicians with extensive defense and commercial aerospace backgrounds. It is designed for current and aspiring manufacturing and repair technicians, engineers and managers. Exceeding the standards of the EASA- and FAA-approved SAE AIR4938 – Composite and Bonded Structure Technical Specialist Training, the program includes:

• Occupational health and safety
• Understanding and handling of composite materials
• Understanding tooling and structural design
• Layup, bonding, curing and composites fabrication techniques
• Inspection, nondestructive testing and damage assessment
• Structural repair, quality assurance and compliance
• Surface prep and painting
• Supply chain, quality and the management of composites end to end in a manufacturing and operational environment
• Real-world scenarios from rotary and fixed-wing platforms in civilian aviation and defense.

The course combines in-depth theoretical knowledge with practical, hands-on experience, delivered by practicing aerospace industry professionals. All materials and equipment are provided and course content is tailored from entry-level through to advanced users and specialized applications, depending on a participant’s expertise and skill level. Accredited and non-accredited options available.

The “Advanced Composites Aerospace Manufacturing and Repair Training” course is now open for enrollment at the Aeromech Training Centre in Brisbane, with portable training delivery available across Australia, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. To learn more or to register, visit www.aeromech.com.au or contact@aeromech.com.au.

Aeromech’s roots in aerospace

Aeromech was founded by Joe Bryant, a recognized expert in aerospace composites and a former senior leader at Airbus Australia. Bryant led and managed Airbus Australia’s Advanced Composites Manufacturing Facility and was also responsible for the NH90 Final Assembly and Delivery Line, overseeing the local production and delivery of advanced multi-role military helicopters.

His first-hand experience with high-performance aerospace manufacturing and complex aircraft integration underpins Aeromech’s training philosophy: real-world relevance, industry credibility and future readiness.

The Training Centre is also supported by Joseph Saporito, former CEO of Airbus Australia and executive vice president of supply chain at Airbus Helicopters, further strengthening Aeromech’s strategic alignment with global aerospace standards.

Joe Bryant and Joseph Saporito.

“This is exactly the kind of practical, targeted training the region needs,” says Saporito. “Aeromech is preparing the next generation of aerospace professionals with the knowledge and hands-on ability to deliver on real operational demands.”

The opening of the Aeromech Training Centre follows the success of the company’s Advanced Composite Workshops for high school students, which have introduced hundreds of students across Australia to aerospace manufacturing. These workshops are bridging the gap between education and industry, sparking early interest and creating clear career pathways into aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing.

Juan Carlos Southwood, FIDAMC’s Felix Dominguez and Airborne’s Marcus Kremers. Source | Airborne

On Oct. 29, Airborne (The Hague, the Netherlands) and the Foundation for Research, Development, and Application of Composite Materials (FIDAMC, Madrid, Spain), a prominent research institution in composite materials, announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a partnership for joint R&D activities. This partnership aims to innovate and enhance manufacturing processes for composite materials, particularly for future aircraft programs in commercial and defense sectors.

The collaboration will address the industry challenge of automating the production of small- to medium-sized composite parts, an area currently lacking suitable automation technologies for high-rate production. Joint efforts will focus on developing and implementing scalable, efficient and cost-effective automation solutions to increase productivity and reduce material waste in composites manufacturing.

Key areas of collaboration include:

Automated ply placement (APP). APP is a novel manufacturing method for high-rate production of composite parts, either in prepreg, thermoplastic or dry fiber. It creates tailored blanks or parts by efficiently cutting the material into the required ply shapes, picking and placing them into the laminate at high accuracy.

The collaboration topics involve testing and modeling material properties; developing strategies for managing tackiness; forming laminates into 3D structures; assessing debulking and consolidation needs; and developing demonstrators showcasing APP capabilities.

The partnership will also explore optimized cutting strategies; new gripper technologies; integrate sensor technologies; and explore multi-material laminate concepts and novel laminate strategies.

Additionally, teams will assess innovative materials such as multilayer noncrimp fabrics (NCF), recycled fibers, nonwoven materials, and metallic laminates, and evaluate the role of consumables in process optimization.

Kit by light (KBL). KBL is an augmented reality (AR) solution for improving the productivity of ply cutting and kitting processes, and at the same time reduce material waste. It supports the operator during ply offloading and kitting operations, and uses distinctive and patented software to create sequenced kits in one step. It also provides the capability for automated nesting on the shopfloor by the operators directly.

Efforts will focus on demonstrating system functionality; gathering feedback for algorithm refinement; improving ergonomic aspects; and integrating KBL into digital factory ecosystems for enhanced efficiency and traceability.

A joint development roadmap will be established and regularly updated in coordination with aircraft manufacturers and composites production companies to align with industry needs. Both parties will also engage in joint marketing efforts to showcase the developed technologies. FIDAMC will have the ability to use the equipment and technologies with other partners, including production companies, aircraft manufacturers and material companies, for further testing and development of automation solutions.

Under the terms of the MOU, Airborne will provide expertise in automation and digitalization of composites manufacturing processes and share relevant technologies, including APP and KBL. FIDAMC will contribute research capabilities and facilities for material and technology development and testing, facilitate collaboration with universities and research centers, and disseminate research findings. FIDAMC will also lead efforts in training, material and process research, pre-qualification of materials and manufacturing techniques, and developing demonstrators to validate new composite applications, using its capabilities in molding, press equipment, structural testing, nondestructive inspection (NDI) and digital connectivity.

Automated ply placement (APP). Source (All Images) | Airborne

At Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, and in the presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Airbus Helicopters has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to adopt Airborne’s (The Hague, Netherlands) digital automation technologies for its factory in Le Bourget, France. The goal is to optimize manufacturing efficiency and output of composite rotor hubs and helicopter blades through implementation of both Airborne’s main software and automation systems, automated ply placement (APP) and Kit by Light (KBL), respectively.

The focus will be on new automation and software to boost productivity and efficiency. Airbus’ Le Bourget factory makes all composite helicopter blades and hub structures for all Airbus helicopter models, both military and civil. “It's a high-mix production environment, ramping up to meet increasing demand, and Airborne’s industrialization technologies are an excellent fit,” says Marcus Kremers, CTO of Airborne. 

APP is already used by Airbus Commercial for the A350 program. It automates the layup process from cutter to laminate and can be used for prepreg and dry fiber, both of which are processed in Le Bourget (read “Modular, robotic cells enable high-rate RTM using any material format”). In this project, new features regarding part size, layup and quality inspection are planned to be added.

Kit by Light (KBL).

KBL is already in use at Airbus Helicopters’ sister plant in Donauwörth, Germany, where it supports operators in the cutting room with software that significantly accelerates kitting. Building on that experience, plans are to implement the system in the Le Bourget factory to reduce material waste and increase output.

Source | Airbus “Ramping up A320 Family production”

Airbus (Toulouse, France) has opened its second final assembly line (FAL) for the A320 Family aircraft in Tianjin, China. This milestone follows an earlier agreement signed in April 2023 by Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury and the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Co. Ltd. and Aviation Industry Corp. of China Ltd. Preparations to assemble the first aircraft are underway and full operation of the facility is targeted for early 2026.

“We welcome the addition of Tianjin’s second line to our global production system, as it provides us with the necessary flexibility and capacity to deliver on our plan to assemble 75 A320 Family aircraft per month in 2027,” says Faury. “Over the past 40 years of our presence here in the country, we have come a long way in establishing trustful partnerships with the China civil aviation community, and we look forward to writing the next chapters of our future together.”

The FAL line will enable Airbus to significantly increase production close to its customers in China and beyond. It complements the global Airbus production network of 10 FALs — four in Hamburg (Germany), two in Toulouse (France), two in Mobile, Alabama in the U.S. and two in Tianjin (China). The advanced second line features Airbus’ latest technologies and processes to produce aircraft worldwide at the same company’s highest standards. In addition, the facility takes advantage of electricity from renewable sources, reclaimed water and geothermal energy to support the company’s sustainability roadmap, reducing Airbus’ environmental footprint.

Inaugurated in 2008, the Airbus Tianjin FAL was the first Airbus production line for commercial aircraft outside Europe. It has assembled and delivered more than 780 A320 Family aircraft since then, making the facility a symbol of successful Sino-European cooperation. 

Source | AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings

AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings (Amsterdam, Netherlands) is launching its  AS7489-certified training program, created to advance the adoption of the globally recognized standard in aerospace coatings application and raise professional standards.

Developed as part of AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings’ Aerofleet Training+ offering, the program is fully compliant with SAE International’s AS7489 standard, a globally recognized framework for the training and qualification of Aerospace Organic Coatings Applicators.

While certifications have long existed for mechanical, structural and safety disciplines, there was no universal benchmark for coatings. AkzoNobel’s program directly addresses this gap by improving access to professional training for the global aerospace industry.

AkzoNobel’s AS7489 training is structured across five progressive levels, in accordance with the AS7489 technical standard and approved for delivery by SAE International. The courses go from theoretical fundamentals (Level 1) to advanced, practical assessments (Levels 2, 3 and 4) that test hands-on skills and understanding, to Level 5 which provides in-depth specialization for expert applicators.

AkzoNobel’s training center in Troy, Michigan, has been approved and AkzoNobel’s first cohort of Technical Service Representatives have been certified to deliver AS7489-certified training to customers. The company plans to establish and certify additional training centers and Technical Service teams to support the future rollout of AS7489 training across Europe.

“For years, we’ve helped applicators understand and use our coatings effectively, and we will continue to do so, but the introduction of the AS7489 program takes our customer training to a step further,” says Michael Green, business services manager at AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings. “We’re enabling professionals to achieve globally recognized credentials that raise the bar for skill, safety and quality across the industry, and we’re supporting our customers in the MRO and aftermarket. With visible, tangible proof of staff competence and professionalism, our customers will be able to demonstrate both compliance and a high level of service quality, helping them to stand out in an increasingly competitive market.”

Supporting the rollout of the new program is AkzoNobel’s bespoke online training and certification platform, which gives applicators, assessors and employers full visibility of training progress and qualification status.

Through the online training platform, participants can submit their work, track their learning journey and store digital records of their certifications. Independent assessors will use the system to review and grade submissions, ensuring objective evaluation against the AS7489 standard. Employers will be able to monitor employee progress, identify development needs and, when recruiting, verify the credentials of candidates.

Source | Aura Aero

Aircraft manufacturer Aura Aero (Toulouse, France) has cut the ribbon on an 11,000 square-foot facility at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University’s Research Park in Daytona, Florida, which will serve as its U.S. headquarters and first production site. The campus will host the North American Delivery and Customer Support Center for the company’s Integral aircraft program and lay the groundwork for the its hybrid-electric ERA aircraft.

Integral wood-composite trainer

The initial production line will build the Integral family of two-seater, aerobatic-capable training aircraft, which features a hybrid wood and carbon fiber-reinforced composite construction. Since 2017, Air Menuiserie (Saint-Vincent-Du-Boulay, France) has been a key partner in the development and construction of the Integral aircraft, and is applying its decades of wood-carbon composites expertise to the model’s performance and safety. Integral will be offered first with a Lycoming piston engine and subsequently in a 100% electric version.

The U.S. is a major market for Integral, being the largest training market in the world, with nearly 600 FAA-approved flight schools, more than 75,000 pilots and a growing demand for modern, cost-effective training aircraft with aerobatic capabilities.

Recently certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and with FAA certification underway, the Integral family offers an advanced, efficient solution for both traditional and electric flight training, making it a strong contender in the U.S. market.

Electric Regional Aircraft (ERA) in 2028

In 2028, Aura Aero plans to open a 500,000 square-foot assembly line for its 19-seater ERA aircraft and intends to be the world’s first hybrid-electric regional aircraft manufacturer, operating assembly lines in France and the U.S. The aircraft was conceived to use a metal fuselage and carbon fiber composite wing.

The United States has emerged as also one of the strongest markets for ERA, now accounting for more than one-third of the orders worldwide. The company expects U.S. volumes to approach half of its global total as additional commitments are finalized. Current orders and letters of intent (LOI) exceed 650 ERA aircraft, totaling more than $10.5 billion.

Florida’s site follows a partnership signed 2 years ago with Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency, played a key role in supporting the project, which is expected to create more than 1,000 high-skilled jobs in the region.

The Emirates Lounge, which continues to be part of ACS UK’s product portfolio. Source | Emirates for ACS UK

On Nov. 3, AVIC Cabin Systems Ltd. (ACS, London, U.K.) announced that its order book is open and that it is offering its full range of products, from social spaces and galleys to front row monuments, feature panels and stowages (read “AVIC... announces global sales organization”).

Source | ACS UK

ACS UK is a full-service manufacturing company, excelling in the manufacture of complex composite exterior and interior components, moldings, sandwich, flat panels and laminates, for a multitude of industries such as aerospace, rail, marine and automotive, and their varied and specific applications.

With a full order book in June 2022, ACS UK took a strategic decision at that time to reduce its offerings to new business in order to focus upon the delivery of the programs acquired from AIM Altitude Ltd. With these products successfully delivered and customer confidence fully maintained, ACS UK is now open and ready for new business.

“We have been quietly but busily working in the background to safeguard future product offerings, and several key programs are already underway,” says Nigel McSorely, CEO of ACS UK. “Our ethos and focus on customer satisfaction and the delivery of high-quality equipment using highly skilled people continues. We have seen exceptional on-time delivery performance of products to Airbus and Boeing over the past few years. We are very proud of this achievement.”

ACS UK has been working on large orders of front row monuments, galleys and social zones for pre-existing customers. Now that many of these have been delivered, ACS UK is able to offer vital and additional capacity to the market.

“The advantage ACS UK has is that we are new but not new,” McSorely says. “We have the facilities and capacity of a new company, with the experience and expertise of an industry stalwart. ACS UK has a great depth of knowledge and skill but also the ability to grow and take on significant new contracts.”

ACS UK has been achieving this success from its new engineering facility in Bournemouth, U.K., and through its design base in New Zealand, and manufacturing bases in Cambridge, U.K. and China.

Front row monuments, feature panels and bespoke social areas are particular specialties of ACS UK. The company is well known for its innovative design, meticulous engineering and specialist manufacturing processes, bringing vital differentiation to its airline customers.

Sources (clockwise) | IFP, Secara, Zeisburg Carbon and EDAG Engineering

The German Federation of Reinforced Plastics (AVK, Frankfurt, Germany) announces the 2025 winners of the Innovation Award for fiber-reinforced plastics (FRPs), awarded to companies, institutes and their partners for outstanding composites innovations in three categories:

• Products and Applications
• Processes and Procedures
• Research and Science.

A jury of experts comprising engineers, scientists and trade journalists has evaluated the submissions in these three categories based on criteria such as degree of innovation, degree of implementation and sustainability.

The awards for 2025 are as follows.

AVK Innovation Awards group photo. 

Products and Applications Category

1st Place — Zeisberg Carbon GmbH
► 3D-Formwork

Source | Zeisburg Carbon GmbH

Believed to be Germany’s largest 3D printer for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, this system, built by Zeisberg Carbon, produces laminating tools measuring up to 6,000 × 2,000 × 3,000 millimeters, as well as finished components, prototypes and — as a new approach to the Industry 4.0 concept in the construction industry — molds for the production of concrete components. 

This 3D-Formwork is printed automatically, layer by layer, from recycled plastic, enabling a high degree of innovation in prefabricated component factories or for in situ concrete construction. Architectural freedom can be reimagined because 3D-Formwork creates individual façade elements for serially manufactured buildings, such as bridges. Thus, infrastructure can be built aesthetically but also quickly. 

2nd Place — INVENT GmbH with partners Nord-Micro, KOHPA GmbH ► Carbon Heating System (CHS) for aircraft cabins

Source | INVENT, KOHPA Technology

INVENT has developed an innovative CHS for aircraft where the heating function is integrated directly into fiber-reinforced composite pipes using conductive carbon fiber. All development steps, including endurance testing (>3,300 hours) and DO-160 qualification by laboratory partner Nord-Micro, have been completed.

The system uses the existing cabin air distribution system to replace conventional metal heaters or bleed air heating, saving weight, fuel and emissions. Passengers benefit from clean air without oil contamination. CHS is reported to be a milestone for electric cabin systems and sustainable aircraft architecture. INVENT is now ready as a series manufacturer with partner Nord-Micro.

3rd Place — 3D|CORE GmbH & Co. KG
► 3D|CORE FR Sealing

Source | 3D|CORE GmbH & Co. KG

This polymer-mineral foam offers an efficient, cost-effective and weight-saving solution for fire protection in lightweight structures, particularly in the transport industry. Fire protection for sandwich constructions used in trains, ships and vehicles has traditionally required manual application of additional glass fiber layers and use of additional quantities of fire-modified resins. This significantly increased manufacturing cost and component weight.

3D|CORE GmbH & Co. KG is launching 3D|CORE FR Sealing, an innovative fire protection foam that is easily applied by spraying or rolling. The system provides effective fire protection without adding unnecessary weight. The foam has been extensively tested and meets the stringent requirements of the IMO FTP Code 2010 maritime standards and the European standard for rail vehicles EN 45545-2, achieving the requirements of the highest hazard level HL3. The two-component system consists of a medium-viscosity foam and an activator that controls the processing time. Chemical reactions and delamination are avoided by precisely matching the polymer components to the resin system of the component. 

Processes and Procedures Category

1st Place — Secara
► Chemical recycling process for reinforced engineering polymers

Source | Secara

Secara has developed a process that enables technical plastics — such as polyamides, polycarbonates and polyesters such as PBT — to be recycled efficiently and with minimal loss of value. With a global annual production of around 15 million tonnes, these key materials have previously been mostly incinerated due to a lack of recycling options.

Secara’s scalable process also enables the recycling of old, glass fiber-reinforced and mixed plastic waste. Pilot plants are already demonstrating how Secara’s process depolymerizes plastics into high-purity monomers that are chemically identical to fossil raw materials and can be seamlessly integrated into existing value chains. The process already saves up to 70% in CO_₂ emissions, but using renewable energies, it is possible to produce completely decarbonized monomers. Secara is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the European Social Fund as part of the EXIST program.

2nd Place — Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research (IPF) with partner Elbflorace Formula Student Team TU Dresden

► Design and manufacturing of spatial CFRP structural frame based on flat TFP preforms

Source | IPF and Elbflorace

A complex, high-load 3D carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite wishbone bracket for a Formula Student racing vehicle was produced using tailored fiber placement (TFP). The TFP process allows the reinforcement fibers to be deposited variably axially, enabling spatial optimization of fiber positioning and alignment. This means that an optimized fiber placement pattern can be created for each segment and manufactured using a TFP system.

A topology-optimized, additively manufactured titanium wishbone bracket served as a reference. Topology optimization and segmentation for a CFRP wishbone bracket were first carried out based on the corresponding installation space and specifications. After consolidating the preforms in a multipart silicone mold, a CFRP wishbone bracket with a mass of only 183 grams was produced. This is ≈40% lighter than the titanium component and can still safely transmit loads of up to 5 kilonewtons.

3rd Place — Amiblu Germany GmbH
► Recycling of GFRP grinding dust waste

Source | Amiblu

At its Trollenhagen site, Amiblu Germany manufactures around 300 kilometers of glass fiber-reinforced (GFRP) pipes per year in nominal diameters ranging from DN 200 to DN 2450 using a centrifugal casting process. This process produces grinding dust as a waste product. With the help of an in-house developed technology, it is now possible to return more than 90% of approximately 220 tonnes of grinding dust per year to the production process, saving raw materials and reducing waste disposal costs. Recycling the dust into new products is a significant step toward sustainable GFRP pipe production.

The plant has been in series operation since summer 2024. The process not only significantly reduces waste, but also saves around 4% of the calcium carbonate raw material.

Science and Research Category

1st Place — EDAG Engineering GmbH with partners INVENT GmbH, Fraunhofer IWU and Applus + Rescoll

► Durable, thermally detachable fiber composite structures

Source | EDAG pitch at RECREATE event

The EU-funded RECREATE project has developed a modular system that enables the circular use of CFRP structures. Its core components are thermally detachable adhesive bonds that enable components to be separated without damage by applying specific temperatures without compromising strength during operation. Combined with standardized profiles and connecting elements, this creates a modular system that enables repair, reuse, remanufacturing and single-type recycling. Through the practical implementation of design for circularity, this solution addresses key strategies of the circular economy while creating a basis for new business models for applications from modular vehicle frames to industrial secondary uses.

2nd Place — Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT)
► Tape-REx recycling process for thermoplastic UD tapes

Source | Fraunhofer IPT

Fraunhofer IPT has developed a recycling technology that enables components made of unidirectional (UD) thermoplastic composite tape to be unwound at the end of their life cycle. What makes this technology unique is that the recovered recyclate is then also available as UD tape, retaining the fiber length and orientation as well as the matrix. 

These properties represent an enormous improvement over conventional recycled products in which the fibers are generally recovered as disordered short or long fibers. The retained-length recycled UD tapes can be processed in conventional manufacturing processes such as automated tape laying/fiber placement (ATL/AFP) and hot pressing in the same way as newly produced virgin material tapes.

3rd Place — Faserinstitut Bremen E.V. (FIBRE) with partner Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI)
► Highly integrated hybrid rCF organosheets and thermoforming for contoured aerostructures

In the HIOS project, a segment of a spoiler was used as a demonstrator (left) for recycled carbon fiber (rCF) organosheets. The micrograph at right shows a thickness increase from 2 to 6 millimeters. Source | STFI

In the LuFo VI-2 project — Highly Integrated Organic Sheets (HIOS) FKZ: 20E2116A; 20E2116 — FIBRE and its project partner STFI developed a resource-efficient process chain from semi-finished products to components with a closed-box structure, local reinforcements and variable thickness where a spoiler segment served as an example.

STFI developed a quasi-continuous interval hot pressing process for manufacturing organosheets with variable local thickness based on nonwovens made from recycled carbon fibers (rCF). Local reinforcements were integrated during the manufacturing process. FIBRE developed a complementary thermoforming process, including tools, that allows the closed-box structures to be manufactured in a resource-efficient manner. To this end, thermoforming and joining of the components were integrated into a single process step.

Source | FIBRE 

Source | BlueShift

Blueshift (Spencer, Mass., U.S.) introduces AeroZero flame and thermal barriers (FTBs), a portfolio of ultra-thin, lightweight and flexible flame and thermal material solutions that can withstand exposure up to 1200°C for 30 minutes. The company’s family of thermal protection systems (TPS) can be “can be applied to various surfaces, including carbon fiber composites,” according to the company. AeroZero FTB in particular is especially applicable for composite applications in the aerospace and defense industries, including eVTOLS.

With the continuing global adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and aerospace electrification, Blueshift’s latest addition to its AeroZero family is ideal for a wide range of applications and industries that may experience extreme temperature fluctuations — from EVs and aerospace markets to marine and rail.

For example, within the field of EVs, FTBs are primarily used as a safety barrier material aimed at preventing the transfer of extreme heat or fire that can result in mechanical damage of battery cells and exposure to high temperatures or discharge events. Blueshift’s AeroZero FTBs can withstand exposure up to 1200°C for 30 minutes while maintaining a cold-side temperature below 300°C. This means they may either be used as safety features in preventing uncontrolled fire, for example, due to an aircraft engine fire, or protecting surfaces from direct exposure to flame such as during a rocket takeoff or helping to mitigate the risk of a battery thermal runaway event.

Outperforming traditional mica, silica or polyurethane foams, AeroZero FTBs are up to 80% lighter, with a thickness range of 0.32-1.77 mm — significantly thinner than conventional barriers (3-10 mm). Alongside this, their ease-of-use and flexibility is a key factor in their application; with their “peel-and-stick” pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) backing that simplifies installation on irregular surfaces, labor time and cost can be reduced.

“Traditional thermal insulators have often been based on polymeric foams or ceramic blankets that can suffer from drawbacks due to their added weight, thickness, toxic off-gassing, lack of flexibility and processing issues,” says Tim Burbey, Blueshift president. “Available across multiple ranges, we look to incorporate as many vehicles and industries as possible, so everyone can overcome their unique thermal challenges.”

The AeroZero FTBs family includes, AZ-FTB 100 for up to 500°C applications; AZ-FTB 101 for up to 800°C; and AZ-FTB 300 for maximum protection up to 1200°C. These advanced FTBs are ideal for protection in EV battery modules, and aerospace components that see indirect and direct exposure to flames.

A rendering of Boeing’s second 787 final assembly building when complete. Source | Boeing

In early November 2025, Boeing (Arlington, Va., U.S.) marked the groundbreaking of its Boeing South Carolina (BSC) site expansion. Home of the 787 Dreamliner program, BSC is set to increase production to a rate of 10 airplanes/month in 2026. The expansion will enable the site to support higher 787 production rates given strong market demand.

In late 2024, Boeing announced plans to expand and upgrade its site near Charleston International Airport and a second campus. The company is investing more than $1 billion in this infrastructure program and plans to create more than 1,000 new jobs over the next 5 years. The expansion will include:

• A new final assembly building similar in size to the current final assembly building, which is roughly 1.2 million square feet. It will include airplane production positions, production support and office space.
• A parts preparation area facility, a vertical fin paint facility, Flight Line stalls and more at the airport campus.
• Additions to the Interiors Responsibility Center, where many of the 787’s interior components are made.

Ninety customers from around the world have placed more than 2,250 orders for the 787 Dreamliner family. After more than 1,200 deliveries, the 787 backlog stands at nearly 1,000 airplanes, including more than 300 orders added just in 2025. In all, the commercial aviation industry is expected to need more than 7,800 new widebody airplanes over the next two decades, according to Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook.

“We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its efficiency and versatility. We are making this significant investment to ensure Boeing is ready to meet its customer’s needs in the years and decades ahead,” says Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

For more than a decade, BSC has been the home of the full 787 Dreamliner production cycle. Teammates fabricate, assemble and deliver the three Dreamliner models — 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 — to customers globally. The company established operations in South Carolina in 2009 and currently employs more than 8,200 people across its campuses in North Charleston and in Orangeburg.

Source | CFM International

CFM International (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) continues to make progress rolling out maturity improvements to CFM LEAP-1A engines for Airbus A320neo family aircraft. Likewise, the company continues progress toward introducing similar systems in 2026 for the CFM LEAP-1B engines that power Boeing 737 Max aircraft.  

For LEAP-1A engines, CFM has produced more than 1,200 high-pressure turbine (HPT) durability kits in less than a year since certification in December 2024. This includes new production engines and durability kits delivered to overhaul shops. CFM and its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) partners and operators have also installed the reverse bleed system (RBS) on nearly 50% of LEAP-1A engines in service.  

For LEAP-1B engines, CFM expects the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to grant engine-level, part 33 certification for the RBS shortly. CFM is working closely with Boeing to introduce the RBS and HPT durability kit to 737 Max operators in 2026.  

With more than 4,000 aircraft delivered to date, CFM LEAP engines have experienced “the fastest ramp in commercial aviation history.” Advanced technologies like composite fan blades and ceramic matrix composites (CMC) deliver an engine that’s 15% more fuel efficient, with 15% lower carbon emissions than prior-generation CFM56 engines. Backed by advanced health monitoring systems and an open MRO ecosystem, CFM LEAP engines offer mature reliability and enable high asset utilization for narrowbody aircraft.  

“The LEAP engine family is maturing much faster than its predecessor,” says Gaël Méheust, president and CEO of CFM International. “With these updates, we are now refining the hardware to deliver more durability while reducing the maintenance burden for A320neo family operators. As a result, they benefit not only from the efficiency, reliability and utilization LEAP engines deliver, but also from more predictable operations and longer time on wing.”  

CFM designed the HPT durability kit to increase time between shop visits, with the ability to more than double time on wing in severe environments. The improved hardware will help bring time between shop visits in line with its predecessor, the CFM56 engine, which has set industry standards for long time on wing. CFM is delivering all new and overhauled LEAP-1A engines with the kit, including engines going through both CFM and premier MRO shops.  

Similarly, CFM designed the RBS to reduce the need for on-wing fuel nozzle replacements and bring maintenance needs in line with CFM56 standards. The company is shipping RBS kits to all CFM shops, approved third-party providers and operators that have completed the required training at one of CFM’s four technical education centers in the U.S., France, India and China.  

Source | CMH-17 

The Composite Materials Handbook-17 (CMH-17) provides standardized methods and guidance for the characterization, testing and use of composite materials, particularly in aerospace applications. Its six published volumes establish a consistent approach for how to generate, analyze and qualify composite material data.

CMH-17 is not a regulatory standard but seeks to provide a common technical framework for industry, government and certification authorities. It defines procedures for:

• Conducting mechanical and physical property tests on composite materials.
• Developing and documenting statistically based design allowables.
• Accounting for variability, environmental conditions and processing effects.
• Managing data quality assurance and database management for composites

The handbook is maintained by the CMH-17 Coordination Group, a consortium of experts from government agencies, industry and academia. The handbook is an important resource, providing a technical foundation for the qualification and certification of composite materials, enabling consistent, traceable and statistically valid design practices across the aerospace community.

From Mil Handbook-17 to AAM and eVTOLS

CMH-17 started decades ago as Mil Handbook-17, explains Royal Lovingfoss, director of Advanced Materials & Processes at the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), a program of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (Wichita, Kan., U.S.). “Since then, it has evolved, leaving the military side and taking on FAA sponsorship in 2006, with the CMH-17 Handbook annotation adopted in 2012.”

Starting in 2012, NIAR has operated as the Secretariat, says Lovingfoss, “which means we help to coordinate how the actual CMH-17 Handbook is put forth, as well as coordinate when the virtual and in-person working groups and general meetings occur.”

Source | CMH-17

He notes there are many different working groups operating under the CMH-17 banner, such as Testing, Statistics and Guidelines, as well as the Materials and Process Working Group.

“Our newest, the Additive Manufacturing Working Group, was added in 2018. All of these post information into the handbook, and as the Secretariat, we at NIAR ensure that material is indeed appropriate and meets all of the formatting requirements. We also help coordinate communications between the different working groups.”

“There are also special task groups such as Bonding Process, Sandwich topics and statistics topics like Statistics Process Control. These task groups are temporary and they solve discrete interdisiplinary problems or document specific situations.”

CMH-17 also includes members from different levels of industry, notes Lovingfoss, “from Tier suppliers and smaller sub-tiers, like Fiber Dynamics, up to large OEMs, like Airbus and Boeing, and everyone in between, including materials and equipment suppliers. For example, Toray, Hexcel, Syensqo and Teijin are all large companies that participate, but we also have small mom and pop shops that may have a vested interest in a particular material or aircraft type.” The latter can be in general aviation, spacecraft and/or commercial aviation, which also encompasses eVTOLS, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and advanced air mobility (AAM). “Several companies producing these newer types of aircraft are becoming more involved in CMH-17, such as Joby and Archer,” he adds. “We also have engine companies that participate, including GE Aerospace, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney.”

Lovingfoss points out that CMH-17 is worldwide, with members from almost every major country that works with composites and advanced manufactured materials. “A lot of the companies that participate in CMH-17 are based in Europe and Asia, such as Toray and Teijin,” he explains. “But there are many others. So, there’s no issue with foreign organizations working with us or submitting data on just input, whether that’s on materials, processes, damage tolerance, guidelines or CMC [ceramic matrix composites]. We want engagement from all different types of groups in the global industry.”

Volume 7 – Additive Manufacturing

The new Volume 7, set to be released by the end of 2026, will be dedicated to nonmetallic additive manufacturing (AM) materials that can be made publicly available. It will focus on fused filament fabrication (FFF) — also known as fused deposition modeling (FDM) — and laser powder bed fusion processes, which includes selective laser sintering (SLS), but content on other technologies will be added in subsequent releases.

“This volume will enable companies and organizations to design with these materials and understand the type of material and process controls they need to have in place for aviation-grade parts,” says Lovingfoss. “This type of data isn’t out in the industry right now. Many groups have done their own development work, but that data is typically held as proprietary. CMH-17 Volume 7 will offer a single accessible repository, so that you don’t have to piecemeal data from 10 or 20 different reports, which will support wider use of these materials in certified components.”

CMH-17 Volume 7 will include material property data on (top left, clockwise) unreinforced Ultem 9085, microfiber-reinforced Antero 840CN03, chopped fiber-reinforced HexPEKK-100 and continuous fiber materials from Markforged. Source | Stratasys, Hexcel, Markforged

Materials being reviewed by the Data Review Working Group include filaments made from neat polymer and also with chopped/milled fiber. For example, Stratasys’ (Eden Prairie, Minn., U.S.) Ultem 9085 neat PEI will be included as well as its Antero 800 unreinforced PEKK and 840CN03 microfiber PEKK materials. Hexcel’s (Stamford, Conn., U.S.) HexPEKK-100 reinforced with finely chopped/milled carbon fiber for SLS will also be included. Markforged (Waltham, Mass., U.S.) has also submitted a data set for continuous fiber-reinforced filament.

Volume 7 will also contain a lot of discussion about key topics, says Lovingfoss. “There will be introductory discussions about different AM processes and also about testing and statistical analysis for AM materials, specifically looking at sources of variation. The Guidelines Working Group and Material and Processes Working Group will also add to a more generic baseline of information for people that want to explore using polymer AM in their next aviation product, including information to understand the steps involved in certification.”

Revisions in Volumes 3, 5, 2 and 6

Volume 3 is going into revision H and is available for purchase now from the CMH-17 Publisher, SAE International. This will include significant updates on bond processing, design and analysis, certification steps for bond processes, bolted joint design and analysis, durability and damage tolerance and supportability of bonded and bolt repairs, as well as integrated crashworthiness and some structural engineering technology discussions. It also includes new chapters for spacecraft and engine applications.

Source | CMH-17

Volume 5 revision B, scheduled for release in early 2026, will focus on CMC. Revision B includes the first CMH-17 published CMC data set on oxide fiber-reinforced oxide matrix — also known as Ox/Ox composites or OCMC. This revision will also include fiber material property testing, design considerations, creep testing of CMC and new content based on selected environmental barrier coatings (EBC).

Even though there is quite a bit of carbon/carbon CMC and silicon carbide (SiC) CMC testing going on in the industry, notes Lovingfoss, “most of that is not publicly available. If there is such data that is publicly available, then we would encourage companies to reach out to us.”

Volume 2 revision J, planned for release in summer 2026, will include new datasets and updated definitions. “The gist of this revision is adding more materials to this volume on Polymer Matrix Composite Materials Properties,” says Lovingfoss. “Most of this data is based on prepreg laminates, including woven and unidirectional reinforcements, but these may be produced using hand layup, automated fiber placement [AFP] or press consolidation. There is also some data on thermoplastic composite laminates made from semi-preg, which is also known as organosheet, and is in a sheet form instead of on a roll.”

The last release will be Volume 6 on Structural Sandwich Composites, he continues, “where we are reviewing composites made with core materials. There was some debate about which volume this belongs in, but it was decided that the Sandwich Structures Working Group would review this data at a minimum. The first data sets being vetted are for Nomex honeycomb core, but we will also include data on metal hexagonal honeycomb and corrugated core, as well as foam core to match the information in Volume 6. Data for all of the CMH-17 volumes must meet pedigree requirements to be considered.”

Teresa Vohsen, part of the CMH-17 Secretariat Team at NIAR, adds that for nonmetallic honeycomb, the working group is including hexagonal core (hex core) and also flex core — which has cells shaped to make the honeycomb more easily formed into compound curves. “This revision for Volume 6 will be a large overhaul, with information added about structural design as well, so it will probably double in size,” she notes.

Capturing knowledge, growing composites applications

“There are a lot of exciting things happening in CMH-17 — a lot of growth and change, as well as a fast publication cadence,” says Vohsen. “We've got two books coming out this year, two books next year and at least one in 2027. We’re filling a really important gap in the aerospace industry. A large chunk of engineers are retiring or preparing for retirement, which means there’s a lot of knowledge that is going to be missing when they leave. CMH-17 helps capture that knowledge.”

Vohsen explains that as a young engineer, she used CMH-17 to help ask more educated questions. “This role in industry is important, and as knowledge transfer needs continue to grow, I think people need to understand how CMH-17 is able to help companies and their engineers by giving them the opportunity to know these best practices that took 20-30 years to develop, and also that we’re updating that content and growing into the latest materials that will be used to support the future of aviation.”

Getting involved 

CMH-17 is a growing organization that is free to join. There is an upcoming virtual Coordination Meeting and information can be found on the CMH-17 website. The organization, which includes subject matter experts from certifying agencies, government, academia and industry, works together and collaborates to continue growth of the team-driven handbook content and to foster a thriving network of industry experts.  

Rendering of HyTEM morphing composite wing design being tested on DLR’s PROTEUS unmanned vehicle. Source | DLR, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Lightweight Systems (Braunschweig, Germany) is preparing to flight test a morphing composite wing based on a novel trailing edge design developed in the Hyperelastic Trailing Edge Morphing (HyTEM) project.

The HyTEM concept enables gap-free and step-free movement of the wing edge, enabling the wing to change its shape without creating visible transitions – a major advantage for aerodynamics. It was developed as part of the interdisciplinary research project "Morphing Technologies & Artificial Intelligence Research Group" (morphAIR), which aims to demonstrate a novel wing concept designed to improve aircraft efficiency and control.

“Using 10 strategically placed actuators distributed across each wing half-span, we can achieve unprecedented shape adaptation and control of a fully composite wing structure,” says Martin Radestock, project manager at DLR. “Imagine a trailing edge that can be precisely controlled to optimize lift, drag and roll rates, all while the wing remains fully closed. Additionally, the adaptability of the design can enhance aircraft safety, as the control surface functionalities can be distributed across the entire wing to mitigate actuator malfunctions.” The video below demonstrates a sinusoidal deflection of a trailing edge segment, spanning 0.5 meters, with five distinct control positions.

Ground and flight tests

Both the conventional reference wing and the HyTEM morphing wing are made entirely of lightweight fiber-reinforced composites. DLR completed ground testing and initial flight tests on the reference wing earlier in 2025. “These flights provided valuable data for comparison and validated our baseline setup,” notes Radestock. Building on that momentum, the first morphing wing has now been fabricated, successfully integrated into the avionics of the unmanned test vehicle PROTEUS and all functionality tests have been completed, confirming the system’s integrity and the interaction of the morphing mechanisms with the flight control system.

Although morphing technologies have been studied in extensive ground and wind tunnel tests at the subsystem level over the last decade, important top-level measurements such as fuel consumption and changes in flight characteristics are missing and can only be determined through flight tests. In addition, the combination of artificial intelligence (AI)-based control with morphing technologies offers great potential for improvements in flight control and performance.

PROTEUS has now been equipped with both the conventional and morphing wing and the upcoming flight test campaign will test the HyTEM concept in real flight conditions at the DLR Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Nationales Erprobungszentrum für Unbemannte Luftfahrtsysteme) in Cochstedt, Germany.

“We look forward to sharing the results,” says Radestock, “and to pushing the boundaries of what wings can do.”

Source | (top left, clockwise) Cummins, AMSL Aero Pty Ltd, Hexagon Purus, AZL Aachen

Pressure vessels have been a strong market for composites, driven historically by steady growth in compressed natural gas (CNG) for clean energy, including Type 3 (metal liner) and Type 4 (plastic liner) tanks in CNG vehicles and Type 4 mobile pipelines for industrial transport. Composite pressure vessels are also used onboard space vehicles to store cryogenic fuel for rocket propulsion and gases for other systems.

All of these systems typically use carbon fiber and traditionally relied on epoxy resins, but new designs are being developed with a thermoplastic polymer matrix.

The use of Type 4 tanks to store pressurized hydrogen (H₂) grew dramatically during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as this zero-emission fuel for industry and transport was added to the mix of technologies needed to keep global temperature rise below 2°C. (See CW’s 2024 market summary.)

However, beginning Q1 2025, the Trump administration reversed U.S. climate and clean energy policy, prioritizing fossil fuels. The H₂ market has been further weakened by tariff-induced global economic uncertainty while European governments have diverted billions away from climate aid commitments to defense. AI is also a factor, drawing away billions in investment capital but also rapidly ramping its demand for immediate access to huge amounts of power, setting back the transition to clean energy.

Even though the H₂ economy has been dealt a severe blow, efforts are still ongoing, especially in Europe and Asia, where strategic and financial incentives exist for countries who have abundant clean power for producing H₂, for those who don’t have oil and gas and also for those still prioritizing saving the planet. Meanwhile, composite Type 4 tanks continue to be used for CNG and renewable natural gas (RNG), which is a carbon-negative fuel, as well as to enable the rapid rise in New Space, where more tanks will be needed for the projected growth in launch vehicles and extraterrestrial operations.

Tanks for space

Rocket launches are projected to increase from a record 258 in 2024 to as many as 2,000/year by 2030. This increase is driven by satellite deployment and replacement, cislunar operations (between the Earth and the Moon), Mars exploration and space tourism as well as in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing. Type 4 and composite-overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), which have traditionally used an aluminum liner, may be used to store fuel for propulsion but also gases for life support and other systems.

SSLC develops composite Type 5 tanks as primary structure for space launch vehicles. Source | SSLC

Proven since the 1980s, Type 5 composite pressure vessels without a liner are gaining traction. A notable example is the use of such Type 5 cryogenic propulsion tanks onboard Intuitive Machine’s (IM, Houston, Texas, U.S.) Nova-C lunar lander. All-composite Pressurmaxx liquid methane and liquid oxygen tanks made by Scorpius Space Launch Co. (SSLC, Torrance, Calif., U.S.) were used on the successful IM-1 and IM-2 lunar missions (read “Type V pressure vessel enables lunar lander”). SSLC has built 150-200 tanks over 15 years. A 2025 CW Talks podcast interviews Markus Rufer from SSLC, discussing the company’s aims to integrate tanks into the spacecraft structure, reducing parts and weight.

Dawn Aerospace works with Com&Sens to develop composite-overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) with embedded sensors toward qualified 30-liter tanks by 2025. Source | Dawn Aerospace

Meanwhile, space company Dawn Aerospace (ChristChurch, New Zealand), builder of the Mk-II Aurora spaceplane with a primary composite structure, is expanding its satellite propulsion system offerings by partnering with Com&Sens (Eke, Belgium) to work on smart COPVs through a development contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems’ (ARTES) Core Competitiveness program. Dawn designs and manufactures 30-liter tanks with an aluminum liner overwrapped in carbon fiber and epoxy. Com&Sens is collaborating with semi-automated sensor embedding during filament winding to digitize production and testing parameters using embedded strain and temperature FBG optical fiber sensors. “Using smart technology during the development allows us to bring a better product to market, faster,” says Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace. These tanks will be capable of supporting large satellite systems and geosynchronous orbit (GEO) missions (read “Dawn Aerospace … develops smart COPVs”).

Note, Com&Sens has provided hands-on training workshops on using fiber optic sensing for digital manufacturing of composite pressure vessels. See “Com&Sens presents workshop on fiber optic sensing for COPVs.”

Rocket manufacturing company Reaction Dynamics (RDX, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada) is working to advance its 18-meter Aurora orbital launch vehicle which features a booster stage with several carbon fiber composite tanks designed in-house to store liquid oxidizer. The company was awarded $1.5 million from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) with $1 million directed to optimizing the mass of large composite propellant tanks. Critical for improving Aurora’s launch capabilities, this project builds on RDX’s expertise in composite pressure vessels as it moves toward a full-scale demonstration. The company says that its goal is to maximize Aurora’s payload capacity, with a spaceflight demo planned for 2025.

One notable player in Type 5 tanks for spacecraft was awarded funding in January 2025 to advance Type 4 tanks for H₂ storage in vehicles on Earth. Infinite Composites Inc. (Tulsa, Okla., U.S.) announced a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.) to advance 700-bar storage tanks with the following innovations:

• Development of integral gas barrier materials to replace permeation barrier layers.
• Application of novel, high-aspect ratio 2D nanofiller-based barrier coatings.
• Use of additive manufacturing techniques to aid tank production.

Continued sales in CNG/RNG

Truck powered by Cummins X15N natural gas engine. Source | Cummins

Reports from Hexagon Agility (Costa Mesa, Calif., U.S.) and its parent company Hexagon Composites (Ålesund, Norway) have shown continued sales in RNG/CNG fuel systems using Type 4 pressure vessels. A new wave of orders in late 2024 totaling $4.3 million was driven by sales of Cummins’ (Columbus, Ind., U.S.) X15N natural gas engine, designed specifically for the North American heavy-duty commercial truck market. At the end of April 2025, Daimler Truck North America joined Kenworth and Peterbilt as the leading Class 8 truck OEMs to offer X15N engine options. Additional orders based on the X15N engine were announced for 60 trucks in July 2025 and for 100 heavy-duty trucks to be operated by Trayecto, said to be the largest trucking company in Mexico, in August 2025.

Unfortunately, the freight industry has been experiencing a sustained downturn since mid-2022. As described by an American Trucking Association (ATA) economist in a series of reports by WEX, trucking companies are facing impacts from tariffs, inflation and an uncertain consumer market. Tariffs are driving up prices in materials and slowing manufacturing, which has cut demand and freight volume. Meanwhile, costs for fuel, operations and maintenance are increasing. However, movements toward cleaner energy, like with the X15N engine, are seen as a positive dynamic.

Hexagon Agility Titan Mobile Pipeline module. Source | Hexagon Agility

This dynamic has also helped Hexagon Agility sell CFRP tank-based Mobile Pipeline units. A U.S. oilfield services company is using Titan 450 modules to transition its fleet of well completion equipment from diesel fuel to natural gas while Watani, the country of Jordan’s National Advanced Natural Gas Company, will use ADR X-Store 45-foot modules for flexibility and efficiency to supply both industrial zones and remote communities alike.

Also in 2025, Hexagon Composites fully acquired the alternative fuels subsidiary of Worthington Enterprises known as Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES). Now renamed SES Composites, the business manufactures composite cylinders and systems in Słupsk, Poland, and operates a valve assembly facility in Burscheid, Germany. “This acquisition brings complimentary capabilities to our portfolio and can realize further synergies across our production and supply chain,” says Phillip Schramm, CEO of Hexagon Composites. “As recognized by European OEMs, natural gas, whether renewable or conventional, will remain a key part of the European energy transition for the foreseeable future, and this acquisition strengthens our position as a trusted partner to OEMs in the commercial transportation sector.”

Source | Hexagon Digital Wave

Another key subsidiary of Hexagon Composites is Hexagon Digital Wave (Centennial, Colo., U.S.), which uses proprietary modal acoustic emission (MAE) technology to perform in situ requalification of metal and composite pressure vessels and virtual pipeline trailers. In 2025, it announced a long-term agreement (LTA) to provide exclusive requalification services to a U.S. oil services company’s fleet of virtual pipeline trailers with composite cylinders. Such requalification is required every 5 years for pipeline trailers.

Green H₂ markets: China will lead, U.S. will lag

Source | Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Europe is still pushing forward, albeit at a slower pace. Citing economic and political pressures, many projects have slowed or delayed while others have been canceled. However, the Clean Hydrogen Partnership announced 26 new projects in 2025 to accelerate the development and deployment of H₂ technologies across Europe. Meanwhile, China is set to dominate the global market for green hydrogen. According to S&P Global (New York, N.Y., U.S.), Chinese electrolyzer development has surged in 2025, with manufacturers signing contracts with green hydrogen projects in Europe, the Middle East, Brazil and the U.S.

The U.S., however, will now lag behind. The Trump administration has delayed loans for clean H₂ projects and canceled grants for industrial producers seeking to reduce their emissions. Due to this and canceled tax credits, estimates for U.S. electrolyzer installations have been cut by more than 60%.

India prepares to launch its first H₂-powered train. Source | X post by @AshwiniVaishnaw, minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology, Government of Bharat, India

Meanwhile, the Indian government aligns with China in seeing clean energy as a growth strategy, with goals to install 500 gigawatts of non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030, become an energy-independent nation by 2047 and attain net zero by 2070. As part of this, it has established a National Green Hydrogen Mission that aims to make India a “global hub” for using, producing and exporting green H₂. The country launched its first green H₂ hub in January 2025 and is preparing to launch its first H₂-powered train, manufactured by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.

China is also launching H₂-powered rail. In September 2024, CRRC Corp. Ltd. (Beijing, China) announced two product launches, the Cinova H₂, a new energy intelligent intercity train, and the autonomous rail rapid transit (ART) 2.0. Images and video released of the new train show standard roof-mounted units for housing H₂ storage tanks. Cinova H_₂ offers advancements in speed, passenger capacity and range, offering a transportation option that can be used on non-electrified railways worldwide. The ART 2.0, which will reportedly also use H₂, is designed for medium-to-low passenger volumes, blending the benefits of trams and road-based vehicles to meet urban transport needs.

Type 4 tanks for H₂ vehicles

As reported by Hydrogen Insight, 4,102 H₂ fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) were registered worldwide in H1 2025, a 27.2% decline year on year. Even China, which is currently the largest market for FCEVs, saw 2,040 units sold, an 18.4% decline versus 2024. In a separate report, the news outlet notes vehicle OEM Stellantis has exited the FCEV market.

 

A Honda associate at the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio, sub-assembles the hydrogen tanks for the all-new 2025 CR-V e:FCEV. Source | Honda  

Even so, certain vehicle OEMs remain committed to H₂ models. In 2024, Honda (Tokyo, Japan) started production of its 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV at its Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio, U.S. The compact CUV will use two Type 4 H₂ storage tanks. In February 2025, the company released specifications for the Honda Next Generation Fuel Cell Module, which slashes production cost by 50%, increases durability by >200% while reducing size thanks to a three times increase in volumetric power density for more flexible layouts in the CR-V and potentially other vehicles.

Also in 2024, BMW Group (Munich, Germany) and Toyota Motor Corp. (Tokyo, Japan) announced they would launch a series production FCEV in 2028. The model will use composite pressure vessels for H₂ storage. In a September 2025 report by Hydrogen Insight, BMW announced that it is on track to start series production of its next-generation fuel cells for passenger cars in its Steyr, Austria, facility with construction for H₂-based drivetrains due to start in May 2026.

In September 2025, Dongfeng Motor Corp. (Wuhan, Hubei), one of the largest Chinese stated-owned automobile manufacturers, said it would build a facility to convert existing vehicles to run on H₂ in the city of Ruzhou in central China. The first vehicle modification line will convert 1,000 trucks and 450 other vehicles to run on H₂ in the first 3 years.

Key H₂ tank manufacturers

Hexagon Purus’ fully automated, Industry 4.0 line for H₂ pressure vessels advances efficiency and versatility in a small footprint for next-gen, sustainable composites production.

Hexagon Purus (Oslo, Norway) remains the leading manufacturer of Type 4 tanks for H₂ storage. CW toured its factory in Kassel, Germany, and reported on its fully automated, Industry 4.0 production line which advances efficiency and versatility in a small footprint for next-gen, sustainable composites production. In December 2024, it announced supply of Type 4 H₂ storage cylinders to New Flyer (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) for the fifth year in a row, including the zero-emission transit bus Xcelsior Charge FC, with cylinders delivered throughout 2025.

Source | Hexagon Purus

Notable announcements in 2025 include a multiyear agreement in March with Stadler (Bussnang, Switzerland), a manufacturer of rail applications, for H₂ fuel storage systems for H₂ rail applications in California. In April, the company received its first order from MCV, a bus manufacturer in the Middle East and Africa, for next-gen H₂ fuel storage systems to be delivered in 2025 for use onboard MCV’s fuel-cell electric buses while CIMC-Hexagon (Shijiazhuang, China), a joint venture company between CIMC Enric Holdings Ltd. (Shenzhen, China) and Hexagon Purus, delivered its first Type 4 high-pressure H₂ cylinders for use in Hexagon Purus’ distribution modules in Europe.

In its report for Q2 2025, revenues are down 63% versus Q2 2024, and yet, order backlog is up 33% versus Q1 2025, totaling 1,056 million Krone, not far off from its 1,242 million Krone backlog in Q1 2024. The company continues to focus on H₂ transit bus and infrastructure applications and has also seen growth in Type 4 tanks for space vehicles as well as industrial gas transport.

In April 2024, Type 4 tank manufacturer NPROXX (Heerlen, Netherlands) completed its move to a larger 10,000-square-meter facility in Alsdorf, Germany, to handle larger orders, streamline operations and potentially accommodate up to five times current production, to 30,000 tanks/year.

Voith HySTech Type 4 hydrogen tank made with towpreg. Source | Voith LinkedIn

Also in April 2024, Voith Group established a separate subsidiary, Voith HySTech GmbH (Garching, Germany), focused on Type 4 tanks made using towpreg, and announced a strategic cooperation with the Chinese Weifu High Technology Group (Wuxi) for research, development, production and application of H₂ storage systems.

Thermoplastic composite pipe and tanks for H₂

Continuous thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) manufactured in lengths up to 1.2 kilometers by Hive Composites improves H₂ distribution performance versus steel pipe. Source | Hive Composites

One notable trend in the development of H₂ storage and transport is the use of thermoplastic composites (TPC) versus the traditional epoxy-based thermoset matrices. In April 2025, CW wrote about Hive Composites’ (Loughborough, U.K.) development of TPC pipes for H₂ distribution which reduce operational and decommissioning emissions by 60-70% versus steel pipes. A multilayer barrier system prevents H₂ permeation while 1.2-kilometer continuous pipe lengths speed installation rates by 40 times, yet the pipes still offer a 30+ year service life, maintaining structural integrity even after rapid decompression events.

Key projects in TPC tank development for H₂ storage include:

• COCOLIH2T aiming for two TPC demonstrators and TRL 4 by 2025;
• OVERLEAF for a TPC LH₂ tank with 40% storage efficiency, 60% less weight and 25% boost in storage capacity (see webinars and 3D printing achievements);
• LeiWaCo (2022-2025) for economic series production of TPC LH₂ tanks;
• THOR, completed in 2022, for industrialized production of Type 4.5 TPC tanks;
• Efforts at the National Composites Centre in the U.K. and the Netherlands LH₂ composite tank consortium.

Source | TU Dresden-ILK, BRYSON project, APUS Zero Emission

Another key project is BRYSON (2020-2023). In late 2024, CW wrote about this project’s achievements, including automated TPC tube production and investigation into permeability, noting that EVOH provides 25 times better barrier properties versus PA6. In addition to potentially enabling H₂ storage that fits into EV battery compartments, this concept could also be applied to narrow tanks housed in aircraft wings.

CW also updated readers on the Netherlands liquid hydrogen (LH₂) composite tank consortium, which aims to validate a fully composite long-life tank for civil aviation by 2025 and won the Best Poster Award at the 7^th International Conference and Exhibition on Thermoplastic Composites (ITHEC, Oct. 9-10, Bremen, Germany). The consortium is working with Cetex TC1225 UD tape prepreg comprising carbon fiber and LMPAEK polymer (supplied by Victrex, Clevelys, U.K.). Key topics include tape quality monitoring, continuous ultrasonic welding and induction welding, fiber steering, composite baffles and sensors. (Read “Development of a composite liquid hydrogen tanks for commercial aircraft.”)

AZL CAD design and CAE analysis examples for Type 4 H₂ pressure vessels, including an example of a winding scheme and relative weight results for different pressure vessel designs. Source | AZL Aachen GmbH

In July 2025, AZL Aachen GmbH (Aachen, Germany) also launched a project to rethink pressure vessel design and production in alignment with TPC materials and manufacturing. “Thermoplastic Pressure Vessel Production – Benchmarking of Design-for-Manufacturing Strategies to Optimize Material Efficiency and Cost” will analyze current technologies, develop new design concepts for H₂ and CNG storage tanks and benchmark resulting configurations in terms of weight, cost, recyclability and production KPIs. AZL also announced successful completion of its 12-month R&D project entitled “Trends & Design Factors for Hydrogen Pressure Vessels.”

The ROAD TRHYP project, started in January 2023, has successfully designed a TPC Type 5 cylinder with gravimetric capacity higher than 7%. Supported by the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, the project will conclude in June 2026.

Conformable tanks

Multicell integral H₂ storage tank being developed in the Czech Republic. Source | CompoTech

BRYSON is one approach to developing conformable tanks with flexibility for fit into tight vehicle spaces, but CW has reported on others over the past year, including:

• The Czech project “Composite integral fuel tank for pressurised hydrogen” composite multicell integral tank being developed in the Czech Republic for aviation
  including winding specialist CompoTech PLUS; 
• Polar Technology’s (Eynsham, Oxfordshire, U.K.) “Hydrogen in a Box” development;
• Noble Gas Systems (Wixom, Mich., U.S.), which has received an Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate for its dry fiber conformable H₂ storage vessel from DNV (Bærum, Norway) and raised $4.2 million in Series B funding.

Aviation industry’s drive for tanks

Another blow to the developing H₂ economy this year was Airbus’ announcement that it will push back its original 2035 entry-into-service objectives for the H₂-powered ZEROe passenger aircraft by up to 10 years. Although it remains committed to bringing a commercially viable, fully electric H₂-powered aircraft to market, Airbus explained, development of the necessary infrastructure and ecosystem are not yet on pace to support full-scale operations of such aircraft.

And yet, the 2025 Paris Air Show featured multiple announcements regarding H₂ developments, including:

• Airbus, MTU Aero Engines to advance H₂ fuel cell technology.
  A memorandum of understanding (MOU) with MTU Aero Engines (Munich, Germany) will progress H₂ fuel cell propulsion to decarbonize aviation.
• GKN Aerospace supports Airbus-led ICEFlight program.
  GKN Aerospace (Redditch, U.K.) has joined the collaborative Innovative Cryogenic Electric Flight (ICEFlight) project. Led by Airbus, the consortium will collectively explore the use of liquid hydrogen (LH₂) as a fuel source as well as a cold source for the electrical system cooling.

Fabrum’s onboard LH₂ storage uses a metal shell for ground-based vehicles and all-composite construction for aviation. Source | Fabrum

CW also reported on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) first international workshop on the challenges and future processes for certifying aircraft powered by H₂, with the aim of developing a certification approach that has the support of the entire community. More recently, AMSL Aero (Sydney, Australia) has received funding from the Australian federal government to develop and demonstrate LH₂-powered aircraft for regional and remote Australia using its Vertiia eVTOL aircraft, which comprises an electric motor with a battery, a H₂ fuel cell and a composite tank, developed with Fabrum (Christchurch, New Zealand).

Meanwhile, ZeroAvia (Everett, Wash., U.S.) continues to progress toward certification of its ZA600 H₂-electric powertrain. Although it has tested cryogenic tanks for LH₂, it hasn’t confirmed these will use composites. However, in my 2022 interview with Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia, he did see the future for composites in this application:

“We see the most promising approach is using composite tanks and we are working with a couple of partners on that already. We want to see H₂ aircraft flying as far as jet fuel aircraft, possibly in 10-20 years, and I think cryogenic tanks using lightweight composites will be key to that.”  

In March 2025, the company announced its selection by AFWERX for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to conduct a feasibility study focused on integrating H₂ propulsion into Cessna Caravan aircraft alongside advanced aircraft automation technology. “This feasibility study will provide greater insight into how H₂ fuel cell propulsion can reduce detectability and costs of air operations, enhance capability of autonomous air vehicles and de-risk fuel supply in forward operating environments,” says Miftakhov. The company believes H₂ fuel cells are a promising technology to improve the range, duration and turnaround time for a variety of electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Cavorite X7 eVTOL. Source | Horizon Aircraft, ZeroAvia

This was followed in July 2025 with ZeroAvia’s announcement that it would work with New Horizon Aircraft Ltd. (Toronto, Canada) to develop regional H₂ eVTOL air travel, exploring ZeroAvia’s ZA600 H₂-electric powertrain for Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X7 eVTOL (CW has reported extensively on the ZA600, see “ZeroAvia advances to certify ZA600 in 2025...” and “ZeroAvia receives FAA G-1...”). The partnership will also accelerate research into the necessary infrastructure and certification guidelines for a zero-emission pathway for Horizon Aircraft. “More and more eVTOL companies are looking to H₂-electric propulsion as the breakthrough that can extend range potential and durability of electric propulsion systems,” explains Miftakhov.

In August 2025, ZeroAvia announced it had progressed from milestone G-1 to P-1 toward FAA certification of the ZA600 and is also advancing toward certifying the company’s first fully H₂-electric powertrain with the UK Civil Aviation Authority. ZeroAvia launched a component offering in May 2024 to serve potential applications including battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft and UAVs. ZeroAvia’s complete ZA600 H₂-electric powertrain is designed for up to 20-seat commercial aircraft.

Cryo-compressed H₂

Cryogas tank provides high-density storage of cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH₂) using an inner tank wrapped with carbon fiber/epoxy towpreg. Source | Cryomotive

A promising alternative to LH₂ that already uses a composite inner tank is cryo-compressed H₂ (CcH₂). In July 2024, Cryomotive (Pfeffenhausen, Germany) announced that its CcH₂ storage system for heavy trucks was beginning on-road demonstrations. The Cryogas system features a 400-bar Type 3 inner tank — aluminum liner wrapped with carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy resin via towpreg, which Cryomotive says provides higher repeatability and faster winding speeds for more cost-effective mass production.

A single tank system stores 38 kilograms of CcH₂ and has successfully passed hydraulic burst and cycle testing. Cryomotive offers two frame-mounted tanks to store 76 kilograms, or 3-4 vessels, in a rack storing up to 150 kilograms of CcH₂. A system cost of €500/kilogram is possible at a production volume of 1,000 tanks/year.

Verne’s frame mounted CcH₂ system for heavy-duty trucks (top) and collaboration with ZeroAvia to explore CcH₂ systems for aircraft. Source | Verne

Meanwhile, Verne (San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) successfully demonstrated its first CcH₂ truck in southern California in late 2024. Verne reports its composite CcH₂ technology provides 33% greater storage density versus LH₂ and 87% greater density than traditional 700-bar compressed H₂ gas. Additionally, CcH₂ reportedly offers lower densification costs and less H₂ boil-off losses relative to LH₂. The company also signed an MOU with ZeroAvia to jointly evaluate the opportunities for using CcH₂ onboard H₂-powered aircraft

However, with the sharp decline in clean transportation funding in the U.S., Verne has now pivoted to using its technology to offer H₂ and clean CNG solutions to help companies with reliable access to decentralized power for industry and applications like data centers for AI.

New tank manufacturers and products

Companies that have reported new developments in composite tanks over the past year include:

• B&T Composites
• Gas Vessel Production
• Konvegas
• Pressura
• Quantum Fuel Systems.

Source | Graphmatech

New materials announced for composite pressure vessels include Tenax IMS65 E23 36K 1630tex, the first 36K carbon fiber by Teijin Carbon (Wuppertal, Germany). This high-tensile, intermediate modulus (IM) fiber reportedly enables high-speed filament winding and improved spreadability for producing prepreg tape. Meanwhile, startup Graphmatech (Uppsala, Sweden) secured a €2.5 million EU grant to develop a pilot facility in Uppsala for its polymer-graphene H₂ storage lining technology, aiming to reduce potential leakage by 83%.

Type 5 pressure vessel for H₂ at BTU. Source | Mikrosam

New processes include winding, dome reinforcements and recycling. Engineering Technology Corp. (ETC, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.) has showcased its latest systems featuring high-speed filament winding, automation and integrated robotics as well as towpreg and slit tape winding. Mikrosam (Prilep, Macedonia) delivered a system to BTU in Germany enabling increased precision in automated composite layup of Type 5 H₂ pressure vessels, while Magnum Venus Products (MVP, Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.) has highlighted developments in four-axis filament winding for wet winding and prepreg applications and Roth Composite Machinery GmbH (Steffenberg, Germany) has developed an innovative automation concept for reliable fiber changing, as well as its winding software µRoWin for increased efficiency.

Cevotec (Munich, Germany) commissioned its Samba Pro PV system at the National Composites Center Japan (NCC Japan, Nagoya) for developing lightweight, sustainable composite tanks with increased storage volume. The systems based on fiber patch placement (FPP) technology will aid with production of dome reinforcements for H₂ pressure vessels, enabling reduced weight, cost and environmental footprint of composite tanks. Cevotec’s dome reinforcement solution won the 2024 CAMX Combined Strength Award and was further showcased at CAMX 2025.

Meanwhile, Cygnet Texkimp (Northwich, U.K.) partnered with H₂ powertrain solutions developer Viritech (Nuneaton, Warwickshire, U.K.) to recover high-value, continuous carbon fiber from pressure vessels as part of a strategy to improve circularity in the manufacture of filament-wound parts.

Source | CIKONI

There are also an array of developments in software and sensors. Composites engineering firm CIKONI (Stuttgart, Germany) has worked for more than a decade on projects to optimize composite pressure vessel designs, including work with Cevotec using dome reinforcements to optimize layup and achieve a 15% reduction in carbon fiber use while maintaining equivalent mechanical properties, enabling reduced wall thickness for 17% more usable storage capacity. CW reported on its advances in “Using multidisciplinary simulation, real-time process monitoring to improve composite pressure vessels.”

CW has also reported on Taniq (Rotterdam, Netherlands), which has been globally supplying robotic filament winding equipment since 2007, and released its TaniqWind Pro software in 2022. See its JEC 2025 highlights: “Spin-off shares expertise in filament winding software, robotics.”

Finally, Touch Sensity (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France) has developed a technology solution for structural health monitoring (SHM) of composite H₂ pressure vessels (Type 3 and 4), enabling real-time monitoring of damages, bending detection and localization to ensure safety, durability and predictive maintenance. Its SensityTech detects and locates real-time variations in material properties, providing fast and reliable information on tank integrity as well as remaining lifetime for potential reuse in new vehicles.

CFRP outer tank cap, part of composite dewar construction for cyrogenic liquid hydrogen storage. Source | © DLR. Alle Rechte vorbehalten

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute for Lightweight Systems (Braunschweig), together with INVENT GmbH (Braunschweig, Germany), has developed a 1.9-meter-diameter carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) cylindrical tank component for storing liquid hydrogen (LH₂) for zero-emission propulsion. DLR reports using LH₂ as an energy carrier for short-haul aircraft will become a reality by 2040. For this to succeed, lightweight tanks are needed that can be produced safely, easily and efficiently.

Source | © DLR. Alle Rechte vorbehalten

The 1.9-meter CFRP structure is the shorter of two segments comprising an outer tank for a dewar construction with vacuum between the inner and outer tanks, standard in cryogenic storage. It was reportedly made using materials and processes already approved for aviation, including DLR’s autoclave infusion process.

It was presented for the first time at the Hydrogen Technology World Expo 2025 (Oct. 20-22, Hamburg, Germany).

DLR Institute for Lightweight Systems develops and tests new system technologies based on lightweight materials, structures and functional integration for resource-efficient and climate-friendly structures in aerospace, transport and the energy and security sectors. As part of its work in the German-funded LUFO UpLift project, this first full-scale test structure was produced using DLR’s autoclave infusion process — considered an innovative approach for producing large-scale CFRP tanks.

Source | © DLR. Alle Rechte vorbehalten

The LH₂ tank must withstand cryogenic temperatures of -253°C, a pressure between 2 and 10 bar and must also provide lightweight yet robust leak-tight storage to meet the requirements of commercial aircraft. Aircraft with 100 seats and a 1,000-nautical mile range are the first target for such composite tank developments. The UpLift ground test facility enables testing of full-scale composite tank components and under realistic operational conditions for this segment of future short-haul aircraft.

This development, titled “Lightweight liquid hydrogen tanks for sustainable aviation,” is one of six finalists for the Lower Saxony Innovation Award 2025 in the Key Technologies category. Possible applications are said to include cryogenic space tanks — particularly in the upper stage for the Ariane launch vehicle — and as LH₂ or ammonia storage tanks in the maritime sector. The experience gained in the manufacture of large, thin-walled, low-pressure vessels could also be beneficial toward further advancing high-rate production of future aircraft fuselages and other large components such as pressure bulkheads or rudder shells.

WJ Kim, the CEO of DN Solutions, discussing the Heller acquisition at EMO 2025. Source: All images courtesy of DN Solutions

Key Takeaways

• DN Solutions’ pending acquisition of HELLER pairs DN’s 400-plus-model portfolio with HELLER’s 130-year record in German engineering.
• Reshoring investment is accelerating, creating demand for advanced machining, automation, and local technical support.
• North American expansion includes DN Solutions’ Chicago and Querétaro Technical Centers, along with HELLER’s Troy, Michigan operations.
• Vision 2032, DN’s long-term roadmap, emphasizes automation, digitalization and customer-driven productivity improvements.
• Continuity for HELLER users: DN says existing contracts, service capabilities, and operations will continue under DN ownership.

As U.S. manufacturers continue to invest in domestic production, DN Solutions is deepening its commitment to the North American market. With more than 300,000 machine installations worldwide and a broad CNC machine portfolio, the company is expanding its regional support network and preparing to welcome HELLER into the organization. In each case, the goal is straightforward and deliberate: to provide stronger local service, broader technology options and long-term support customers can count on.

The upcoming acquisition of HELLER is central to that expansion effort. The German builder has a 130-year reputation for precision and productive machining and a strong customer base in the United States, including manufacturing and service operations in Troy, Michigan. DN Solutions says it intends to keep that identity intact while adding scale, resources and additional technology options. The company’s new technical centers in Chicago and Querétaro, Mexico, are also designed to provide closer application support, training and testing capabilities across the region. These moves are guided by DN Solutions’ Vision 2032 roadmap, which focuses on technology leadership, digitalization and strong regional support networks.

In this exclusive interview, DN Solutions Global CEO WJ Kim discusses the state of U.S. manufacturing, the motivation behind the HELLER acquisition and what current HELLER customers in the U.S. can expect going forward.

Where U.S. Manufacturing Stands Today

MMS: What is your view on the current state of U.S. manufacturing?

WJ KIM: The U.S. was the global manufacturing powerhouse for decades. Industries like auto, aerospace, and metalworking flourished, and ‘Made in USA’ was the gold standard for quality and trust. While outsourcing certainly thinned the sector, it’s now clearly in an upswing. This is fueled by reshoring and massive capital investment. In this environment, machine tools are non-negotiable — they are the essential foundation that builds manufacturing competitiveness.

MMS: How do you assess the recent U.S. policy push for reshoring?

WJ KIM: This is much more than policy; it’s a fundamental structural shift driven by supply chain de-risking and the race for technological advantage. We’re seeing colossal investments targeting strategic sectors — semiconductors, batteries, and dual-use. Manufacturing is the most potent engine for restoring U.S. economic strength, and machine tools provide the platform for that recovery. With volatility in raw materials and logistics, the imperative to drive down operational costs — through energy efficiency, extended tool life, and streamlined maintenance — has never been greater.

MMS: Why are machine tools so crucial to the manufacturing renaissance?

WJ KIM: Processing capability is the absolute starting point for every industry. Semiconductors demand nanometer precision; aerospace needs to handle advanced composites and high-strength alloys; dual-use requires stable, reliable and high-volume production; and the EV/battery sector is hyper-focused on lightweighting and cost-efficiency. Without state-of-the-art machine tools and automation, the promise of reshoring will remain unfulfilled.

Faced with severe skilled labor shortages and relentless cost pressures, automation isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s the default operating mode. We’re focusing on maximizing unattended runtime and lowering unit labor costs at the customer’s production site by integrating robotics, pallet systems, and advanced software. Beyond that, an intuitive HMI, standardized workflows, and reliable remote support are essential. The next frontier is data-driven manufacturing AI — predictive maintenance, process optimization, and anomaly detection — which directly boosts yields and equipment OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).

DN Solutions’ Global Vision and Investment

MMS: What preparations have you made under your Vision 2032?

WJ KIM: Since our founding in 1976, our cumulative global installations have exceeded 300,000 units. The last three years show our commitment: we’ve stabilized our German R&D center, broken ground on a factory in India, and opened our Chicago Tech Center. We’ve intentionally diversified our customer base beyond auto and semi, growing our presence in aerospace and dual-use. We’ve successfully transitioned from being just an equipment supplier to a true solution partner driving productivity breakthroughs.

MMS: Could you elaborate on your current investment status in the U.S. market?

WJ KIM: We opened the Chicago Tech Center in 2024 to directly support customer application testing and R&D. In August, we executed the Share Purchase Agreement for HELLER, which we anticipate closing early next year. To ensure robust support across North America, we’re opening the Querétaro Tech Center in Mexico on November 3rd and 4th. Our guiding principle is that “Local teams understand the local market best,” which is why our U.S. subsidiary is led by Daniel Medrea. We currently employ approximately 100 people in the U.S. Once the HELLER acquisition is finalized, we expect employment to scale up to several hundred, including the Troy facility.

MMS: What is your strategy for engaging with Key Accounts (large corporate customers)?

WJ KIM: Leading companies demand the highest level of solutions. Most of our U.S. Key Accounts are global industry pioneers. We operate under the philosophy of “proposing solutions before the requirement is even stated.” We deploy dedicated KA Teams to provide comprehensive solutions that integrate standardization, automation, and quality management. Post-acquisition, the addition of HELLER’s experience with complex turnkey projects and global customer service will enable us to improve our high service levels even more.

The new Querétaro Technical Center, shown here during its Grand Opening, provides DN Solutions customers in Mexico and Latin America with closer access to application testing, training and technical support.

The HELLER Acquisition and Integration

MMS: What is the significance of the HELLER acquisition?

WJ KIM: HELLER is a renowned brand with a 130-year legacy. Critically, they have production bases in Germany, the UK, Brazil, China, and, most importantly for this market, Troy, Michigan. This allows DN Solutions to significantly enhance our local production and service responsiveness here in the U.S. The fusion of HELLER’s deep tradition and our operational agility will create significant new value. HELLER’s proven expertise, service infrastructure, and established track record in automotive, aerospace, and dual-use will also be invaluable in accelerating our product and service evolution. Note: The HELLER acquisition is pending final regulatory approval and closing.

MMS: What is the strategic rationale behind the HELLER acquisition, especially for the North American market?

WJ KIM: Please understand that my comments are limited at this stage as the acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval. 

This acquisition rests on three pillars: Technology, Global Footprint, and Service.

Our strategy is straightforward — to combine DN Solutions’ scale, digital automation, and solution expertise with HELLER’s world-class 4 and 5 axis horizontal competence and technology knowledge to enhance customer productivity.

HELLER’s strengths in Siemens controls make it exceptionally well-suited for the high-mix, high-precision demands of the aerospace, semiconductor, and energy industries. Equally important, its U.S. Troy facility directly supports the reshoring movement driven by the CHIPS Act and IRA, reinforcing local manufacturing resilience across key markets.

Together, we will deliver a complete portfolio — from FMS cells to advanced 5-axis and mill-turn solutions — perfectly aligned with North America’s key priorities in reshoring, EV retooling, and aerospace recovery.

Ultimately, our goal is to address shared industry challenges such as the skilled labor shortage and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) optimization, empowering our customers to achieve greater efficiency and competitiveness.

MMS: What changes will HELLER customers in the U.S. see?

WJ KIM: There will be zero disruption after the acquisition has been approved. Existing contracts, warranties and service agreements will be honored. Customers can expect the same seamless experience. HELLER’s 130-year technical heritage and operational stability will be enhanced by combining with DN Solutions, ensuring long-term sustainability. Furthermore, customers will gain access to DN Solutions’ comprehensive portfolio of over 400 machine models, allowing us to address a much wider range of needs.

MMS: The HELLER brand is synonymous with German engineering heritage. How will DN Solutions preserve that identity?

WJ KIM: Simply put, HELLER remains HELLER. The 130-year legacy of precision and reliability is precisely why we pursued this acquisition. Our role is not to replace it, but to protect and propel that heritage forward. We have deep respect for HELLER’s engineering, design, and manufacturing capabilities. We will maintain the HELLER brand, identity, and DNA, while reinforcing the shared values that put technology, customers, and employees first. 

MMS: What is our direct message to HELLER’s customers in the United States?

WJ KIM: After the acquisition has been approved, your operations and support are expected to continue seamlessly. All existing contracts, warranties, and services will remain fully honored. You’ll continue to work with the same people, the same application teams, and the same service infrastructure. Under the full backing of DN Solutions, new contracts will also be fulfilled with the utmost care.

The combination of HELLER’s 130-year technical heritage and operational stability with DN Solutions’ global scale will further strengthen the brand’s sustainability. We are committed to ensuring that HELLER remains a symbol of precision, reliability, and partnership. We will spare no effort to secure the values that matter most to you: uptime stability, service excellence, and supply chain reliability in the evolving manufacturing landscape.

DN Solutions’ DVF 5000 5-axis machining center shown with the AWC (Auto Work Changer) automation system. This highly automated platform is designed for high-precision, simultaneous 5-axis work across aerospace, medical and general precision manufacturing applications.

Technology Leadership and Application Focus

MMS: What is the secret to your balanced performance across diverse industries (semiconductors, aerospace, energy)?

WJ KIM: Our success lies in our deep-dive understanding of each industry’s specific processes, allowing us to propose highly customized equipment and automation packages.

In semiconductors this year, for example, we launched a dedicated machine combined with robot-based loading/unloading automation for precision quartz ring processing. In high-value sectors like aerospace and medical, where lightweighting and component consolidation are key, additive manufacturing is increasingly relevant. We introduced our PBF (Powder Bed Fusion) additive machine, the ‘DLX Series,’ this year and are rapidly advancing our additive-subtractive hybrid technology. This combination of relentless application-specific engineering and platform standardization is the core of our balanced portfolio and our high level of customer satisfaction.

MMS: Focusing on immediate customer benefits, how will the combined product portfolio address North America’s current manufacturing challenges?

WJ KIM: Upon receiving regulatory approval and closing the acquisition, we will ensure that our customers immediately realize the benefits of the DN Solutions–HELLER synergy.

First and foremost, we will work together to address our customers’ key challenges — meeting stringent quality requirements, alleviating skilled labor shortages, and achieving ambitious utilization targets. Our expanded portfolio spans the full spectrum — from flexible manufacturing system (FMS) cells to advanced 5-axis and mill-turn solutions — capturing the strong momentum of the 2025 North American market, particularly in reshoring, EV retooling, and aerospace recovery. Ultimately, the integration of our two companies offers customers a broader and more powerful range of production solutions.

MMS: What is the role of the Querétaro Tech Center in Mexico?

WJ KIM: Querétaro is the strategic manufacturing center of the Bajío region and a key node in the North American auto and aerospace supply chain. Our 1,153 square meter Tech Center will feature our core machines — SMX/DNX (multitasking), DVF (5-axis), and RPS (automation) — to conduct real-world testing, technical seminars, and provide parts/service, maximizing customer value. Supply chain resilience is paramount, making localized sourcing, short lead times, and regional networks connecting the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America critical competitive advantages. After the acquisition closes, we plan to integrate the Querétaro Tech Center with HELLER’s Brazil facility to form a powerful support system across all of Latin America.

Source | Embraer 

In a bold step toward India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, Embraer Defense & Security (Jacksonville, Fla., U.S.) and Mahindra Group (New Delhi, India), have signed a landmark strategic cooperation agreement (SCA) to advance the C-390 Millennium for the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program. This agreement was inked alongside the inauguration of Embraer’s national office in Aerocity, New Delhi.

The agreement builds upon the memorandum of understanding signed in February 2024 at the Embassy of Brazil in New Delhi, deepening the scope of cooperation to include joint marketing, industrialization and developing India as a hub for the C-390 Millennium. Since the signing, the aircraft has further increased its operator base globally.

Embraer and Mahindra Group will work closely with stakeholders in the country and engage with India’s military and aerospace ecosystem to identify opportunities for local manufacturing, assembly facilities, supply chain and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities. The long-term ambition is to position India as a manufacturing and support hub for the C-390 Millennium aircraft, serving both domestic and regional requirements.

“The agreement is a significant milestone in our relationship with Mahindra Group,” notes Bosco da Costa Junior, president and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. “This partnership is more than an aerospace deal — it reflects our commitment to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and the growing friendship between Brazil and India.”

The C-390 Millennium, a modern military transport aircraft, can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and is said to fly faster (470 knots) and farther. It is able to perform a wide range of missions including cargo and troop transport, airdrops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian operations. It can operate from temporary or unpaved runways. The aircraft can also be configured for air-to-air refueling, both as a tanker and as a receiver.

The current fleet, in operation, has demonstrated a mission completion rate of more than 99%. It has already been selected by air forces in Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, South Korea, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, Lithuania and an undisclosed customer.

Source | Fabrum

A team of New Zealand and Australian companies developing and deploying liquid hydrogen (LH₂) technologies to enable Australasia’s first hydrogen (H₂)-electric flights has made a significant step forward in the transition to zero-emission aviation. They successfully filled composite tanks with LH₂ produced and stored on-site for the first time at an international airport in preparation for pre-flight testing. This team includes:

• Fabrum (Christchurch, New Zealand), developer of zero-emission transition technologies, including composite LH₂ tanks.
• AMSL Aero (Sydney, Australia), developer of the Vertiia H₂-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
• Stralis Aircraft (Brisbane, Australia), developer of high-performance, low-operating-cost H₂-electric propulsion systems.

Fabrum designed and manufactured the advanced composite LH₂ tanks for the aircraft companies AMSL Aero and Stralis Aircraft. The refueling was successfully completed at Fabrum’s dedicated LH₂ test facility at Christchurch Airport, developed in partnership with the airport at its renewable energy precinct.

The companies are demonstrating that LH₂ fuel is a credible alternative for the aviation industry. The testing event highlighted several LH₂ technologies — including Fabrum’s triple-skin onboard tanks, featuring what is reported to be “groundbreaking” composites manufacturing techniques and the culmination of more than 20 years of R&D in cryogenics and composites. Fabrum’s LH₂ tank technology provides enhanced thermal insulation and fast refueling compared to conventional double-skin tank designs — delivering up to 70% faster refueling times and an 80% reduction in boil-off losses.

AMSL Aero will install these tanks on its Vertiia aircraft for long-range flights, enabling it to achieve optimal range, payload and speed. In addition, Stralis Aircraft’s lightweight H₂-electric propulsion system will be powered by LH₂ from Fabrum’s cryogenic tanks, which are mounted on the wings of Stralis’ fixed-wing test aircraft. Stralis expects its H₂-electric propulsion system will enable travel up to 10 times further than battery-electric alternatives and save 20-50% on operational costs compared to fossil fuel. Its first H₂ test flight is expected to take off in Australasia within 6 months.

“Our lightweight composite tanks, together with our H₂ liquefier and refueling systems, are critical enablers for H₂-powered flight,” explains Christopher Boyle, managing director of Fabrum. “By bringing all the elements together for the first time on-site at an international airport — producing, storing and dispensing LH₂ into composite aviation tanks as a fuel — we’re proving that LH₂ technologies for aircraft are now available, and that H₂-electric flight will soon be a reality in Australasia.”

Since its inception, Vertiia was designed to be powered by H₂ for long-range, cargo and passenger operations. “It must be as light as possible to achieve its 1,000-kilometer range, 500-kilogram payload and 300 kilometer/hour cruising speed,” Dr. Adriano Di Pietro, CEO of AMSL Aero, explains. “LH₂ is the lightest zero-emission method of storing energy for long-distance flight; no other technology currently comes close. We often get asked, ‘You are flying Vertiia and are developing an end-to-end H₂ system, but what else needs to happen to make Vertiia fly on LH₂?’ With Fabrum we have demonstrated the key steps in that process: from producing LH₂, to filling our ground transport container, then filling the tanks that we will install to our aircraft before our first LH₂ flights next year. This is a major milestone.”

"It’s fantastic to see more of Fabrum’s H₂ technologies unveiled and tested,” adds Bob Criner, CEO of Stralis Aircraft. “We are working with Fabrum to develop onboard tanks for our fixed-wing test aircraft to supply H₂ to our H₂-electric propulsion system. We’re excited to see Fabrum’s H₂ fuel dispensing systems for these onboard tanks proven out in testing. This is a vital step toward our first LH₂ test flights.”

These H₂ advancements stem from strong industry collaboration aimed at accelerating zero-emission aviation. Fabrum, AMSL Aero and Stralis Aircraft are members of the Hydrogen Flight Alliance in Australia, which is advancing the development of H₂-electric flight. AMSL Aero was recently awarded a grant from the Australian Government Department of Industry, Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Program for a “Liquid Hydrogen Powered Aircraft for Regional and Remote Australia” project, with Fabrum among the collaborators. Stralis Aircraft and Fabrum have also received support from Ara Ake, New Zealand’s future energy center, to fast-track H₂ technology for Australasia’s LH₂-powered flight.

Highly qualified employees perform quality work at FACC. In the FACC Academy, the company focuses on comprehensive training and further education of the crew. Source | FACC/Gortana

In the first 9 months of the 2025 financial year, FACC (Ried im Innkreis, Austria) reports that it achieved revenue growth of 8.6%, reaching €697.6 million. Reported earnings (EBIT) amounted to €21.5 million in the reporting period (comparable period 2024: €21.8 million) and continue to be impacted by disruptions in international supply chains and material cost increases.

The aviation industry continued its long-standing and constant growth course of recent years in Q3 2025. Due to long-term contracts with all major manufacturers, FACC AG was able to benefit from this development in Q3 as well. The company’s achieved revenue is the highest in this period since FACC was founded (1989). The goal of the entire aviation industry is to continue on this growth course and to support the demand of airlines with a continuous ramp-up of production rates.

FACC’s cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing program, which has been in place since autumn 2024, is showing initial success. In FACC Academy, which was established in 2024, more than 2,700 participants have taken part in a total of 257 courses and production training. As a result of these trainings, the number of employees at FACC was kept almost the same as in the same period of the previous year (+76 FTE), while increasing revenue.

Targeted implementation of the cost reduction and efficiency enhancement program continues to be the top priority of FACC’s management team, with a focus on further increasing efficiency in operations, compensating for global inflation effects and restructuring the supply chain to reduce the sharp rise in material costs, especially in Europe. In addition, despite increased revenue, there are first sustainable positive effects in the reduction of safety inventories and thus an improvement in cash flow, FACC AG reports.

Based on current customer forecasts, FACC management expects revenue for the 2025 financial year to be around €1 billion, which corresponds to a growth target of more than 10%. The operating result (EBIT) will continue to increase as planned and will be between 4-5% at group level (EBIT margin). The forecast for the financial year is based on the premise that there will be no change in the currently known global conditions.

The CASPR robotic demonstrator developed in the FANTOM project scans a composite wing box front spar from Airbus. Source (All Images) | IRT Jules Verne, FANTOM project

The complexity of composite structures for aircraft/aerospace is increasing, says Nicolas Colin, technical expert in nondestructive testing (NDT) for IRT Jules Verne (Bouguenais, France), an industrial collaborative research center with composites expertise. “Traditionally, NDT machines used in composites production operations are large, specialist machines that are not easily adaptable to complex geometries. Instead, they tend to be C-scan systems using ultrasound testing [UT] heads on gantry or dual robot systems with water squirters that require a significant concrete foundation, large footprint in the factory and a lot of water, up to 100 liters/minute.”

In 2019, IRT Jules Verne started exploring how to reduce cost and increase flexibility in composites NDT by applying automation. “Automation has existed,” notes Colin, “but using older technology. Airbus asked if we could develop an NDT system that is more flexible. So, we built a consortium with Airbus, its NDT company Testia, Tier 1 composite aerostructures supplier Daher, which is located next door to us, as well as the robotics integrator Axiome [Aizenay] and the CEA List, which has expertise in UT inspection and simulation.”

The resulting Flexible & Automated NDT PlatfOrm for Manufacturing (FANTOM) project ran from January 2022 to December 2024 and resulted in a prototype demonstrator that combines an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and cobot with a Creaform (Lévis, Quebec, Canada) geometric scanner, visual inspection cameras and UT hardware and software to meet a variety of inspection requirements from Airbus and Daher using actual carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) parts.

FANTOM project roadmap

IRT Jules Verne is known for leading collaborative projects, says Aurélien Lunion, project leader for FANTOM at IRT Jules Verne. “We also have a lot of know-how in our five areas of expertise.” These include:

• Modeling & simulation
• Composite material processes
• Metallic material processes
• Robotics & cobotics
• Monitoring, inspection & process control.

“We used these multiple sets of expertise and multiple in-house teams,” says Lunion, “as well as our project partners in FANTOM to develop an automated robotic inspection demonstrator that could fulfill the requirements for CFRP structures that Daher and Airbus gave to us.”

The FANTOM project developed a robotic inspection demonstrator that was mobile and implemented three types of inspection: dimensional/geometric, visual and UT.

He explains that IRT sees inspection moving away from fixed stations for specific parts. These use thousands of liters of water and cost €1-5 million per system, depending on the size of structure to be inspected. Instead, the vision is to use more inline sensing to ensure quality and predict performance. Such systems would integrate different inspection methods into a simple platform that reduces manual operations, minimizes use of floor space and water usage and reduces cost versus traditional systems.

FANTOM demonstrated two CFRP use cases: An Airbus A350 wing box front spar (top) and a Daher complex beam with integrated stiffeners (bottom).

“During FANTOM, we demonstrated a mobile system that implemented geometric inspection using Creaform, visual inspection using cameras and UT scans using a low water usage spraying system for coupling with the part surface,” says Lunion. “We proved that we can use less manpower and achieve more inspection thanks to a smart way of performing the UT scanning, and we need much less space because the platform moves to the structure. We minimized water consumption by using only mist while significantly reducing the system cost — the prototype unit cost less than €1 million.”

This system was demonstrated on two CFRP use cases: An Airbus A350 wing box front spar measuring 6 × 2.4 meters × 10 millimeters with ply drop-offs and a falling edge, while Daher’s use case was a 2 × 0.4-meter × 10-millimeter beam with integrated stiffener, thickness variations and restricted access.

Prototype NDT system

FANTOM’s mobile robotic unit combines an AMR with a cobot and various end effectors (top) which checks part geometry, creates a correct surface, generates scan trajectories and completes visual and UT inspections (bottom). 

IRT Jules Verne worked with Axiome to design the robotic platform and then tested its mobility, says Colin. “Using an AMR and a cobot are not revolutionary concepts, but they enable assembling the NDT and robotic systems in a way that is fully integrated and can precisely localize inspection with the cobot end effector.” IRT Jules Verne has a patent pending on this system and inspection technique.

“We can localize inspection by combining position data from the AMR, cobot arm and the C-track on the Creaform system that registers where the end effector is with high precision,” Colin adds.

Creaform is a company that develops advanced metrology solutions. Its R-series products are made for mounting onto robots and cobots. The system used by IRT Jules Verne includes a MetraSCAN head mounted onto the cobot and a C-Track optical tracker. The C-Track has two infrared cameras that emit pulses of infrared light that illuminate reflector targets on the MetraSCAN head and the object being scanned. The cameras track these reflectors to determine their exact position in space, creating a precise 3D reference frame for localizing the inspection area. The MetraSCAN then uses blue laser triangulation to capture the object’s 3D surface data within the tracked volume, providing high-accuracy, real-time measurements that are immune to vibrations and environmental changes. This allows the C-Track to continuously track the position of the scanning system and the object, enabling the 3D scanner to capture accurate measurements even as the cobot arm and AMR move.

The CASPR mobile robotic unit uses a Creaform MetraSCAN head on the end of the cobot (yellow circle) and a C-Track unit projecting vertically (red) so that its twin cameras can illuminate and track the object being scanned and the cobot in 3D space. Reflectors being tracked (green) can be seen on the aluminum frame above and below the wing box spar being scanned.

Inspection process flow

3D data acquired using the Creaform system enabled a digital reconstruction of the as-built part versus CAD file (top), enabling generation of more accurate and optimized trajectories for cobot inspection (bottom).

As shown in the process flow diagram above, the Creaform system was used to complete the first three steps in the robotic NDT sequence:

• Acquisition of the actual geometry for the part being inspected
• Digital reconstruction of the surface
• Generation of trajectories for the cobot inspection.

This was key, notes Lunion, because it also enables optimization of the inspection trajectories. “Airbus has large parts which can bend due to their own weight,” he explains. “Paths generated from CAD files for these parts are not always accurate, which can cause a lack of coupling during the UT scan so that you don’t acquire NDT data in those locations.”

“We first needed to establish the correct geometry of the part to enable capturing all the necessary data during inspection,” Lunion continues. “So, we first perform a 3D scan of the part using Creaform and then generate the trajectory for the UT scan from that 3D data.”

CIVA software was used to model ultrasound wave propagation through the CFRP part and geometry, enabling development of an optimized phased array UT probe.

“Once we have the 3D mesh [obtained with the Creaform system software], we load it in our trajectory planner [in-house software] to generate trajectories for the UT scan,” says Colin. “We then perform the UT inspection.” The team used CIVA software developed by CEA List and distributed by Extende (Massy, France) to simulate the UT inspection, modeling the propagation of the UT waves through the part. “Traditionally, this physics-based modeling was successfully carried out for metals and CFRP applications, but with limited validity range due to the assumptions of the ray-tracing models,” he notes. “For this project, the CEA List used a specific version of CIVA that incorporated finite element methods [FEM]. This enabled us to develop and optimize a phased array probe design using focal laws that are adapted to the part material and geometry.”

UT inspection

UT inspection typically uses water to achieve coupling between the ultrasound waves and the inspected part. The water fills any air gaps and enables ultrasonic waves emitted from the transducer to travel into the composite part and back with minimal reflection and loss of energy. However, water is an issue, explains Colin, “because it can migrate into holes and unfinished edges, so the parts must be prepared with caps to prevent this, which consumes time and money.”

IRT Jules Verne sought to minimize water use and storage. Iterations of the UT phased array probe shown at right used small misters on either side of the phased array UT probe. “We used a membrane that can also include a kind of water pocket to supply water, a solution provided by the Imasonic company” says Colin.

“We needed only 1 liter of water to inspect one side of the Airbus wing box spar which had a surface area of 12-15 square meters,” he continues. “We typically use between 0.5 and 1 liter of water during a 2-hour inspection. This is acceptable to Airbus, especially compared to traditional UT systems with squirters which require at least 100 liters/minute, though in those systems, much of the water is recycled rather than lost.”

 

Phased array UT probes developed in FANTOM include two different versions shown here: rigid probe (top) and one with a conformable membrane (bottom). Both use misters on each side of the probe to enable coupling with minimal water.

“We used a rigid UT end effector, but we also developed a compliant end effector with springs on it so that the blue membrane with the water mist is always perpendicular to the surface,” notes Colin. “We would lose some signal especially at ply drop-offs, but we had no signal loss with the rigid end effector. However, for this, you must be very accurate in terms of the end effector orientation and trajectory. For example, even when the probe is rotated just ±1° off perpendicular, you lose 2 decibels of the UT signal.”

“During the project, the robotics team determined the right trajectory, and they were accurate enough to use the rigid end effector,” says Colin. “The Creaform system tracks where the UT array is and that’s how we follow the trajectories.” It also helped deal with the part’s geometrical complexities. “We could see the ply drop-offs, for example, and the robotic arm followed these, maintaining the probe orthogonal to the part surface. Inspection of edges are also an issue, which are usually done manually. In our setup, the design of the end effector, a rigid structure with a flexible membrane and a linear array, allows the probe to scan along the edges effectively. The membrane of the end effector is pressed partly on the part and partly over the surrounding space, allowing the probe to maintain contact and acquire ultrasonic signals even along complex boundaries.”

Visual inspection

In addition to 3D scan and UT end effectors, the CASPR demonstrator was developed to use a third type of end effector. “During commercial aircraft manufacturing and operation, 70% of inspection is visual,” says Colin. “Airbus and Daher aim to use automation to achieve significant cost reduction in these operations and are also interested in AI defect detection.”

To achieve this, FANTOM developed two different vision end effectors for visual inspection. The first was designed for scanning flat or gently curved surfaces, covering relatively large areas with adjustable lighting modules that can vary in intensity, wavelength and orientation. A smaller, more compact end effector was developed to access confined or complex geometries such as concave regions, internal radii and corners, enabling inspection of areas that are typically difficult to reach.

 

A camera box end effector was developed for visual inspection (top) and the system was taught using machine learning to identify scratches, dents, flaking and FOD (bottom).

“In addition to the 3D scan of the part, the visual inspection end effectors systems also provide information about scratches, bumps and dents in part surface,” says Lunion. “Airbus and Daher specified four types of defects that must be detected: scratch, dent, FOD and flaking. We took more than 100 examples of defects on structures from Airbus and used machine learning to teach the system to recognize and classify the defects.”

Mapping inspection data

Position data from the Creaform system (top left) was combined with UT and visual data to create the cartography or mapping of the data onto the part.

One of the key challenges in FANTOM, notes Lunion, was accurately linking the position of each inspection end effector with the NDT data it collected. “Precise position information is essential to generate reliable cartographies,” he adds.

FANTOM partner Testia led this work. Lunion explains that the Creaform data gave X, Y, Z (3D space) and A, B, C (rotation) of the tool center point (TCP) for both the visual and ultrasonic sensors. “They achieved a high-frequency, precise measurement of the TCP position. This data was then combined with the data collected by the UT and camera systems.”

 

NDT Kit software is used to visualize UT data (top) and was modified by Testia during FANTOM to accept multiple types of 3D NDT data. One current visualization is shown here (bottom) with UT data mapped onto the surface at left and visual defect data from camera scans for the same position at right.

For FANTOM, Testia built upon Airbus’ existing NDT Kit UT software, originally developed for postprocessing and visualization of ultrasonic data. “They extended the software so that visual inspection images can also be stored in the NK3 file format, which was previously used only for 3D ultrasonic data,” says Colin. “This allows 3D positional data, UT cartographies and visual inspection results to be combined within the same software environment, enabling operators to view and analyze all relevant inspection data in one place and streamline the postprocessing workflow.”

“Today, we can see all sets of data simultaneously,” he continues, “but they are separate.” The image at right shows the UT data on the left and visual inspection data on the right. “In the future, we aim to generate a single, fused cartography, where each point represents the probability of defects based on all inspection methods. This would integrate the raw cartographies from ultrasonic, visual and 3D inspection into one fused map. The separate data would still be available for more detail, but this type of cartography would enable the NDT operator to move quickly and focus only on high-probability areas.”

Future developments

Although the FANTOM project ended at the end of 2024, IRT Jules Verne is continuing to explore further developments. “We achieved the objective Airbus and DAHER set for us: developing a mobile automated NDT prototype capable of performing the most common inspections on CFRP structures with reduced factory space, foundation requirements, cost and manual labor,” says Colin. “The system is still a prototype and requires further development to fully meet the needs of industrial partners. Current work focuses on improving the robotized inspection end effectors for all types of NDT methods, making the system easier to operate for non-robotics specialists, and leveraging its modular design so partners can select only the technological components they want to integrate into their own factories.”

FANTOM envisions further development in NDT data visualization, including use of augmented reality to project defect data onto scanned structures.

“We also see a possibility to improve defect visualization through augmented reality [AR],” he continues. He notes that CAD/CAM and digital twin software provider Dassault Systèmes (Vélizy-Villacoublay, France) acquired the company Diota (Paris, France) in 2022. Dassault Systèmes is integrating Diota’s solutions into its software to enhance the use of digitized processes and digital mock-ups for manufacturing by connecting virtual twins with real-world data in the field. “This illustrates our vision: The UT and visual inspection data we collect, combined with positional information and stored in .NKD files, can be projected onto a structure via AR. When moving an AR tablet or goggles, operators can instantly locate defects and their associated metadata, focusing on areas that require further inspection. This is particularly valuable for guiding them to perform targeted UT scans at precise defect locations, something that can be difficult when defects are only visible on conventional 2D maps, making the process more efficient.”

H225M helicopter. Source | GKN Aerospace

GKN Aerospace’s business in the Netherlands, GKN Fokker (Hoogeveen), has signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus Helicopters (Marignane, France) during the visit of Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to Airbus in Toulouse on Oct. 1, 2025.

The Royal visit highlighted the strategic importance of the long-standing relationship between Airbus, the Netherlands and the Dutch aerospace eco-system. The MOU follows the official purchase of 12 H225M helicopters by the Dutch Ministry of Defence and further strengthens the collaboration between GKN Aerospace and Airbus Helicopters. It will advance the development of critical systems like electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) and advanced composites technology for the Airbus H225M Caracal helicopter, creating a steppingstone for broader European defense cooperation and autonomy.

This agreement builds on the MOU signed between Airbus Helicopters and GKN Fokker in 2023. That collaboration laid the foundation for industrial participation in areas including engineering, EWIS design and manufacturing and aerostructures.

Airbus Helicopters and GKN Fokker have a long-standing partnership, notably through joint work on the NH90 program as part of the NHIndustries consortium with Leonardo. 

Heule Precision Tools’ Comp V3 tool is engineered to perform multiple drilling or countersinking operations on uneven surfaces with precision, without marking the workpiece. According to the company, it improves productivity by eliminating the inconsistency associated with manual countersinking and saves significant cycle time. A specialzied, non-rotational contact foot prevents any marking of the workpiece during operation, making it well suited for critical finishes.

The Comp V3 offers fine adjustments to the chamfer depth of 0.0008" (0.02 mm) and a drill depth of up to 2 × D with through-coolant capabilities. It produces clean, precise countersinks in a variety of materials including aluminum, titanium and composites, making it well suited for critical aircraft components like seat rails, floorboards, structural components, aluminum wheels and high-value aluminum castings. It features double compensation technology for precision and finer adjustments; the contact ring compresses as the hole is drilled, and then the contact ring holder compresses after the predetermined countersink depth is reached. This technology enables a variant of part of ±3.75 mm with height increments of +0.02 mm, making it well suited for aerospace applications and others where critical finishes are required.

The Comp V3 tooling includes an adjustment ring, a contact ring holder, a contact ring and the solid carbide step drill. In the first step, the tool head makes contact with the workpiece. As the solid carbide step drill makes the hole, the contact ring moves up. The drill continues working until the preset countersink depth is reached. When the countersink reaches maximum depth, the contact ring holder and contact ring move up together as the drill stays stationary. The drill is then removed, leaving a finished part.

The Comp V3 is spring-loaded and designed to cut a specific countersink size. Once the specific size chamfer is produced, the face of the tool stops rotation while making contact with the part, and the cutter cannot travel further into the part. Using a highly efficient threaded system for quick changes between drill and countersink operations streamlines the workflow. Each Comp V3 tool is tailored to customer specifications to provide easy integration into existing systems.

Source | HondaJet Aircraft Co.

In February 2025, Honda Aircraft Co.’s (Greensboro, N.C., U.S.) began production of the first HondaJet Echelon (previously called the HondaJet 2600 concept) test unit with the start of assembly of the aircraft’s wing structure in Greensboro, North Carolina. The HondaJet Echelon, planned to achieve first flight in 2026, will feature a larger cabin with increased passenger capacity and range over previous HondaJet models, bringing the award-winning design features of the HondaJet to a new segment of the aviation market.

In June 2023, Honda Aircraft announced Spirit AeroSystem’s (Wichita, Kan., U.S.) expanded role in developing the aircraft’s build-to-print composite fuselage and a composite bonded frame. Honda Aircraft’s production department began introducing specialized assembly lines early in 2024, with tooling installation completed at the end of the year. With work on the first major sub-assembly of the Echelon underway, the program has entered its next development phase. The company is producing test articles to facilitate the maturation of the design in support of aircraft certification.

In January 2025, the Honda Aircraft Company Advanced Systems Integration Test Facility (ASITF) held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the HondaJet Echelon development simulator, which now serves several functions, including a vehicle for system development testing. The development simulator uses data from wind tunnel models of the HondaJet Echelon and real aircraft hardware to predict aircraft performance in operational conditions, enabling engineers to evaluate key aircraft systems prior to the test aircraft taking flight.

“We are excited to see the HondaJet Echelon program gaining momentum,” says Honda Aircraft Co. senior vice president and chief commercial officer Amod Kelkar. “We are proud of the achievements we have made in the last several months, and it is just the beginning. We have a series of additional targets to hit in the coming months, each of which will bring us closer to the actual first flight next year [2026]. Market interest in the HondaJet Echelon grows, with almost 500 letters of intent signed to date, and numbers increasing every month.”

The HondaJet Echelon is planned to become the “first” light jet with a range capable of nonstop transcontinental flight across the U.S., offering 40% better fuel efficiency than some midsize jets. The new aircraft will introduce product features previously unseen in the HondaJet line, while still building on the high performance and operational efficiency of the original HondaJet.

Source | Hycco

H3 Dynamics (Toulouse), a French manufacturer of hydrogen-electric
hybrid systems for aerospace and defense, and Hycco (Toulouse), designer of a new generation of ultra-thin composite materials used in hydrogen fuel cell stacks, have announced a strategic alliance.

Under this agreement, the two companies are preparing the creation of a joint venture that will combine know-how, equipment and expertise to produce the world’s highest-performance hydrogen fuel cell stacks, meeting the strictest regulatory and operational requirements of aerospace and defense — sectors that are cornerstones of European sovereignty.

For civil aviation, the electrification of flight paves the way for the sector’s concrete decarbonization. Hydrogen-electric hybrid systems enables long-range flights for a wide variety of 100% electric aircraft: light aviation, VTOLs, helicopters, business jets, seaplanes, airships and, at a later stage, commercial aircraft.

At the same time, European armed forces aim to conduct long-range drone missions (air, sea, land); electric propulsion significantly reduces thermal and acoustic signatures. Through the integration of hydrogen technologies, a generation of 100% electric drones — small, lightweight, low-cost, scalable and rapidly deployable — will be able to carry out missions spanning hundreds or even thousands of kilometers.

Through this alliance, the French ecosystem is bridging the gap between deep-tech innovations born in France and international application markets. Already, H3 Dynamics is initiating a broad movement that brings together leading players to design, improve and industrialize high-performance, certifiable aerospace equipment. The company is also developing downstream partnerships in light aerial, ground and maritime robotics.

ILA Berlin 2024. Source | Messe Berlin

From June 10-14, 2026, BER Airport will once again become the center of the international aerospace industry with the ILA Berlin trade show, bringing together players from industry, politics, research and the armed forces. Around 90% of the exhibition space has already been allocated, and super early bird tickets for trade visitors are now on sale in the ticket shop.

As a political industry platform, ILA Berlin unites the entire aerospace ecosystem. On several live stages, international experts discuss key future industry issues — from technological innovation and digital transformation to geopolitics and security to new markets and business models. Of particular note is the Static and Flying Display, where the public can experience civil and military aircraft on the ground and in the air.

In 2026, exhibitors will present their innovations in the halls, chalets and in outdoor areas. From low-emission flying and new propulsion systems to digital manufacturing processes, ILA Berlin 2026 will showcase the entire spectrum of aviation. Exhibitors — including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), Clean Aviation, Dassault, Deutsche Aircraft, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Diehl Aviation, Fraunhofer, GE Aerospace, Honeywell, Liebherr-Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik AG, MTU Aero Engines, Rolls-Royce, Saab, Safran, RTX and Vaeridion — will present latest developments and projects.

At the ILA Stage Aviation, experts will discuss the industry’s current challenges, such as the reduction of emissions and noise pollution, using sustainable fuels and hydrogen technologies, developing electric and hybrid drives and creating eVTOLs for urban mobility. They will also discuss additive manufacturing and lightweight construction, which significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

ILA Berlin’s Space segment, highlighted through the Space Pavilion — organized by the BDLI together with its member companies, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the DLR — focuses on safety, sustainability and commercialization in space. At the ILA Stage Space in 2026, space industry players will present current missions and strategies, with a strong focus on economic competitiveness, security and defense, complemented by new players in the German and European space industry. Companies and organizations such as Airbus, ArianeGroup, CGI, DLR, Jena-Optronik, OHB, Astrofein and many more will demonstrate how space travel is transforming and enhancing our daily lives. During the event, ESA astronauts will discuss their experiences in space and on the International Space Station (ISS) with audiences of all ages.

The event’s Defense segment will focus on current and future technologies, projects and application fields including networked operations management, unmanned systems and AI-supported solutions. As a driver of innovation and a partner to industry, the German Armed Forces are the largest single exhibitor at the ILA. Exhibitors such as Airbus Defence and Space, Diehl Defence, Embraer, Elbit, Hensoldt, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, Rafael, Raytheon, Rheinmetall, Rohde & Schwarz and Thales are also expected to attend.

The Military Support Center (MSC) with its adjoining Defence Park on the outdoor grounds offers a high-caliber stage program and serves as an international meeting place for industry and the armed forces. The MSC also showcases the close cooperation between German industry and the German Armed Forces in the areas of logistics and capability development.

During ILA Berlin 2026, the Supplier Hall offers additional access to the international supply industry. Buyers and trade visitors can reach business contacts from all over the world in just a few steps, initiate deals for tomorrow and find partners for new projects. B2B meeting appointments with exhibitors can be arranged in advance on the business platform.

Moreover, the ILA Talent Hub continues to grow. With a new concept and additional partners, it is aimed at school pupils, students, young professionals and career changers. At ILA Berlin, the fascination of aerospace is brought to life. Interested parties can meet recruiters and obtain valuable information and insights from trainees and young professionals. For the first time, more interested parties than ever before can participate for free and get in direct contact with employers in the industry. This strengthens ILA’s position as the premier talent and career platform for the aerospace industry.

Source (All Images) | Greene Tweed

As the aircraft industry continues to strive for increased efficiency and sustainability, every pound of weight removed reduces fuel consumption and corresponding emissions. Composites have made significant progress in replacing heavier metallic components in aircraft engines, but more is still possible. For example, Greene Tweed (Lansdale, Pa., U.S.) has demonstrated the potential for its Discontinuous Long Fiber (DLF) materials to cut weight in complex-shaped parts by an average of 35% versus aluminum in more than 500 aircraft part numbers. However, to enable its use at the front of turbofan engines, the high-velocity impact behavior of DLF needed to be characterized to understand the effect of different composite constituents, meso-structures and possible hybridization with continuous fiber materials. The ultimate goal was to develop a design methodology and solution for improved impact resistance in such applications.

Impact resistance for DLF fan platforms

DLF thermoplastic composite (TPC) materials have successfully replaced metals in complex-shaped aerospace components for years, using aerospace-approved carbon fiber/PEEK prepreg unidirectional (UD) tapes that are cut into flakes and compression molded. These materials provide good chemical resistance, stiffness, high temperature capability and creep resistance above the glass transition temperature, as well as enhanced design freedom with the ability to integrate multiple parts into a single structure. Greene Tweed has invested in the characterization of quasi-static mechanical properties, or allowables, to support a design by analysis approach, including high-temperature strength, fatigue and creep data. However, the high-velocity (>100 meters/second) impact behavior of these materials — which form a sub-category of fiber-reinforced TPC — had not yet been substantially studied.

Rendering of Greene Tweed's aeroengine fan platform demonstrator for impact testing, featuring an internal center rib (orange) and stiffening gussets on the sides (blue) to reduce the unsupported region of its aerodynamic surface that would be subjected to hailstone impacts.

At the front of turbofan engines, fan platforms are components that cover the engine’s hub between the fan blades and direct airflow toward the low-pressure compressor. These have long been a target for Greene Tweed, potentially saving north of 8 pounds per engine versus metal. The complex geometries of these components, however, make it challenging to use traditional continuous fiber materials like UD tape, braid and fabric, although solutions do exist that use complex layups and 3D braids via processes similar to resin transfer molding (RTM).

Greene Tweed's aeroengine fan platform demonstrator made from Xycomp Discontinuous Long Fiber (DLF) thermoplastic composite materials.

Greene Tweed has demonstrated an alternative via its Xycomp DLF compression molding compounds, with the ability to rapidly manufacture highly complex parts using an automated and repeatable near-net shape process. This matched-die molding can also produce the smooth aerodynamic surfaces required for parts with airflow surfaces, while the use of a thermoplastic matrix greatly enhances recyclability from raw material to final parts.

Although Xycomp DLF is well proven — with close to half a million parts (including structural brackets, enclosures, covers, vents, doors, etc.) currently flying on 12 types of commercial aircraft — use in parts sitting at the front of an engine that are prone to hail impact damage is more challenging for a discontinuous fiber material. A prototype fan platform made with Xycomp DLF has long been known to meet typical mechanical requirements such as strength at max overspeed as well as dynamic performance requirements — except for high-velocity hail impact, where experimental results on coupons had been disappointing.

Researchers at Greene Tweed’s R&D Center for Composites (Yverdon, Switzerland) took on the challenge to understand the underlying behavior of this material when impacted at high speeds. The team launched a significant impact testing campaign on representative coupons evaluating different prepreg tapes and their constituents as well as hybrids combining continuous and discontinuous fiber-reinforced composites. Continuous fiber-reinforced composites included laminates and fabrics, while Greene Tweed’s internal research on discontinuous materials led to the use of a patented new chopped tape flake shape internally dubbed “DLF 2.0” (versus Greene Tweed’s standard 0.5 × 0.5-inch flakes). This notably increased impact resistance, prompting the fabrication of a demonstrator component that experimentally withstood the impact of a 2-inch hailstone hitting the part at 200 meters/second in its most critical location without any damage.

Exploring failure in plates

Greene Tweed's hail impact testing jig for DLF materials in plates (top) and in a demonstrator platform for aeroengines (bottom).

To characterize the impact behavior of its Xycomp DLF materials, Greene Tweed followed a building block pyramid approach, first testing plate coupons and then progressing to shaped demonstrators. Impacts were achieved using spherical, clear ice hailstones sized 2 inches in diameter, shot from a self-built hail impact testing jig. The tests were filmed by a high-speed camera capturing 10,000 frames/second to study the visually observable damage mechanisms on 6 × 12-inch, 0.15-inch thick plates that were inclined at 30° over the horizontal plane and pinned on the longer edges.

These plates were manufactured using UD tapes with a nominal volume fraction of 60% AS4 and IM7 carbon fiber reinforcing PA6, PEEK, PEKK, LMPAEK and PEI matrices, then cut into flakes to form Xycomp DLF materials. Two different AS4/PEEK materials with statistically identical quasi-static properties were tested to compare the potential effect of tape architecture while the baseline PEEK was also tested using S2 glass fiber. In addition, the baseline carbon fiber/PEEK material was cut with a novel “2.0” flake shape, as this had previously been shown to increase tensile strength in both quasi-static and fatigue testing by more than 50%. Continuous fiber laminates were also tested, including quasi-isotropic tape layups and cross-ply fabric layups. Hybrid samples tested were manufactured with continuous fiber materials on the “front” (impact facing) side and DLF on the back, as this is where shape complexity could be added to the production design. Finally, the effect of DLF plate thickness was studied on the reference material system.

Results from impact testing 6 × 12 × 0.15-inch-thick plates show resistance to 2-inch hailstone impact as a function of speed for various DLF constituent combinations.

The observed damage mode on DLF plates was always initiated by a tensile crack at the back of the plate, propagating from the impact location toward the top of the plate. Standard DLF is known to be notably weaker in tension than in other loading conditions. A high-velocity impact creates a local plate bending stress state below the impact location which, when it exceeds the tensile strength of DLF, logically leads to sample failure. This could be clearly observed on videos taken from the back of the impacted plates, where a local “tearing” of the material under the impact side could be observed while no damage of any kind could be seen at the front. Later validated in computed tomography (CT) inspections, this means that the sample geometry itself is somewhat ill-suited to showcase the real-life capability of DLF, because a real component would include a local stiffener to reduce the tensile strain in these critical part locations.

Regarding the effect of plate thickness, it appeared that each additional millimeter could add about 40 meters/second of additional impact resistance under otherwise similar test conditions. Changing from AS4 to IM7 carbon fiber did not improve impact resistance. Neither did hybrid constructions with continuous fiber materials on the impact face, further validating the critical damage mechanism previously identified. However, changing from carbon fiber to the S2 glass fiber option did improve resistance, as did using polymers with less crystallinity or continuous fiber reinforcement materials on the rear face (in tension) of tested samples, with DLF on the front face, even though such a layup would be of limited practical use.

Resistance of 6 × 12 × 0.15-inch-thick DLF coupons to 2-inch hailstone impacts, showing significant improvement of “DLF 2.0” featuring a novel flake shape.

The most striking change was obtained by using the novel flake shape (“DLF 2.0”). This patented change in geometry was brought about to reduce possible stress concentrations at the end of the composite flakes, thus increasing the apparent toughness of the material. Without changing anything else, the DLF 2.0 samples were found to exceed the hail impact resistance of continuous fiber laminates, including results obtained on a quasi-isotropic laminate made from the same base material as the modified DLF.

After evaluating all of the results, the team hypothesized that no single constituent parameter dominated the high-velocity impact behavior of DLF parts. Instead, the key parameter appears to be the composite’s apparent toughness, itself a function of the specific constituents paired and the interface achieved between them, as well as the tape’s meso-scale structure. The clearest proof of how much these intrinsic properties are interlinked is the very large increase in performance obtained by changing the flake geometry, and thus the part’s meso-structure. Despite the lack of predictability of such a material property, interesting generic trends could still be obtained in this study.

Platform demonstrator tests

Using results from the initial plate tests, an in-house-designed fan platform demonstrator was fabricated that closely approximated a real part for 25,000-35,000-pound thrust class engines. Among the design guidelines used, the Greene Tweed team limited the estimated part deflection upon hail impact to safe levels (as determined from the plate testing) by adequately stiffening the structure geometrically. This was done by strategically placing a central rib within the part and reinforcement gussets along its sides to limit the size of the unsupported region in the aerodynamic surface that would be impacted.

The rendering at left shows the five impact locations tested on demonstrator platforms with the most critical highlighted at top. Results from these trials of 2-inch hailstones impacting platforms made from various materials are shown here, where “MM” (far right on X-axis) denotes a change in molding parameters to make better use of the DLF 2.0 novel flake shape material.

Five impact locations were initially investigated, and without much surprise, the top right corner — which presented the largest unsupported region — proved to be the most critical. Once this critical location was defined, several of the key hybrid materials identified in the plate study were investigated. Thanks to the coupons study and the more fundamental understanding of DLF failure under high-velocity impact, the team was able to demonstrate that it was possible to achieve the hail impact resistance targets with the standard DLF material. Although performance was indeed higher with the modified flake geometry, being able to use the current DLF material in such applications is very welcome, removing the need to requalify a new material. Also important is the fact that Greene Tweed managed to derive sufficient design guidelines from the plate study to enable this improved impact performance. Still, the DLF 2.0 version remains an option for an application where even higher performance is required.

To ensure that nothing was missed, selected samples were scanned after impact using micro-CT. As with the initial testing on plates, it became clear that the predominance of a tensile failure mode induced by localized bending meant that no damage could be found in the bulk of parts that did not present visible damage at their surfaces. This is due to the highest strain in such a load case always being present at the outer surface of a part, ensuring that the critical location is easily observable.

Higher failure strength for future parts

As a result of this development effort to investigate and optimize DLF’s performance for high-speed impact and front-of-turbofan aeroengine applications, Greene Tweed has developed and explored a wide array of capabilities that now compliment its existing production infrastructure. Hybrid material combinations, geometrical optimization, nondestructive inspection/micro-CT and continued material development via DLF 2.0 are continuing to push discontinuous TPC into more aggressive and demanding applications.

Success for this research initiative was validated through the actual fabrication and testing of a DLF fan platform component made using the already-flying and certified AS4/PEEK carbon fiber material (Xycomp 5175), which solidifies competitive costing and ensures commercial viability. Xycomp DLF continues to offer weight, performance and cost savings compared to machined aluminum parts, with the aeroengine fan platform now proven as an example of such capability with sufficient impact resistance.

About the Author

Sebastien Kohler

Sebastien Kohler is a scientist working on thermoplastic composite materials in the Advanced Technology Group for Structural and Engineered Components at Greene Tweed (Lansdale, Pa., U.S.). He is based in the company’s R&D Center for Composites in Yverdon, Switzerland, and part of a cross-functional team developing new composite materials and novel molding processes alongside working on new applications, from ideation to final component. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, where his thesis involved multi-scale experimental and numerical investigations of thin-ply composite materials.

Flying S was founded in 2001 on David and Penny Shaw’s family farm in Crawford County, Illinois. What started as an aerospace design consultancy has evolved to include engineering and part production, with a 47-machine tool shop and 15-person quality team. Images provided by Flying S. 

In advanced manufacturing, quality is about more than measuring parts to ensure they’re in spec — it’s a continuous loop between the engineers, machinists and quality inspectors. Designs flow from engineering to machining, and parts from machining to quality. In turn, data flows from the quality department back to both machining and engineering, helping engineers design better parts and aiding machinists in improving their production processes. But what’s the best way to get that data from quality to engineering and machining? These departments often use different software, and even if the software is the same, it doesn’t necessarily connect the different departments.

Flying S started as an aerospace design consultancy but has grown to include engineering and part production, along with a 15-person quality team — a necessity when making parts for the aerospace, defense and space industries. Verisurf’s software platform enables Flying S employees to speak the same language, whether they work in the quality lab, on the shop floor or in the design office, closing the loop of part and data flow.

The Flying S inspection department was introduced to Verisurf when it purchased a Master3DGage portable CMM arm about 10 years ago. The team found Verisurf’s CMM programming software easier to use than its previous system, and when they learned Verisurf was compatible with their other equipment, they started implementing it on their other CMMs.

From Design to Manufacturing

Penny and David Shaw founded Flying S on their family farm in Crawford County, Illinois, in 2001. As the business evolved to include not just designing parts, but also making them, it established a machine shop on site. “While it was initially conceived to support composites work, it's grown to be more than that,” explains Adam Wesley, who does inspection support for company’s quality department. While the shop still machines molds for composite aerostructures, machined components with complex geometries and tight tolerances now make up a significant portion of its work. The machine shop has become a pillar of the business in its own right, with 47 machine tools including five-axis VMCs from Matsuura, Brother and Haas; five-axis machines with articulating heads from Kenichi; Haas three-axis VMCs; large routers from Thermwood and C.R. Onsrud; Nakamura lathes with pallets; and Prusa 3D printers.

A robust quality department with 15 employees and equipment including four CMMs, five portable scanning arms, laser scanning systems, and three Zeiss ScanBox systems has grown alongside Flying S’s machine shop. “I don't think Flying S could be Flying S without the quality department,” Wesley says. “Our customer requirements, some of them are pretty stringent.”

Not only does Verisurf work with a range of inspection equipment types and providers, it can also be used by other departments within Flying S. Data from the inspection reports helps machinists adjust processes to produce accurate parts, and engineering can use a part’s CAD file generated by Verisurf during inspection to design other components that connect to it.

Aerospace Inspection

Flying S has been using Verisurf at least 10 years, according to Wesley. The relationship started when Flying S purchased a Master3DGage portable CMM arm. The inspection team had a lot of success with the CMM arm and especially the Verisurf software that came with it. Jones says the department’s previous inspection software was based on the DMIS programming language, making training and support for it difficult to find. When the team switched to Verisurf and its Automate CMM programming software, he says the CMM became a much more valuable tool. When the team learned Verisurf was compatible with other equipment, it started implementing the software on its other CMMs. Flying S now has 17 seats of Verisurf, split between quality, engineering, prototyping and fixture design.

Verisurf’s ability to work with any type of inspection system and CAD file is a huge benefit for Flying S, whose variety of work necessitates a range of inspection methods. “You don't want to use the same type of inspection equipment for every single part that we make,” notes Adam Krupp, an aerospace engineer and previous inspection supervisor at Flying S. For instance, a portable CMM works for smaller quantities but not larger quantities, while parts with tighter tolerances on hole positions are best suited to a traditional CMM. Some parts even need multiple inspection methods. “If we need data that the CMM isn't quite capable of providing, then we'll just pull that program over to an arm and gather additional data into the same program,” Wesley says. “It works for hand measurement, too,” adds inspection supervisor Wes Jones. “If we need hand measurement data for troubleshooting something, Verisurf is where we go to pull the nominal data to find the information we need.”

Flying S also uses Verisurf for reverse engineering. When the owner’s 1930s Spartan Executive aircraft needed a new landing gear component, the inspection team scanned the part and created a CAD file. The engineering team used the file to improve the part, then the machine shop produced it.

Benefits Beyond Inspection

The benefits of Verisurf’s ability to compile data from multiple sources goes beyond the inspection department. “Being able to show the same interface for all those different types of inspections goes a long way to simplifying it for the machinist who's making the parts,” Krupp says. The machinists can then use this data to improve their production processes. “We make some really complex parts, so being able to machine a very complex part and have almost live feedback from the quality department where we can talk the same language and help the machinist make adjustments as needed,” he continues, “it just makes us better at making parts.”

The original landing gear part.

Wesley describes one recent job involving a large, complex machined part. “We machined both sides, pocketed, drilled, threaded — all kinds of crazy features. It’s a transmission housing for Jagemann Engineering in Arvada, Colorado. It was roughly a meter long, but it's also a relatively thin part for that size,” he says. When the first parts were inspected and compared to the CAD model in Verisurf, the inspection team found they were out of shape. But the data also showed how much the part had moved during machining. “The machine shop was actually able to change their machining strategy to eliminate that warpage in the finished product by a huge margin,” he says.

Verisurf also helped Flying S produce a complex composite part that was being laid up in a mold. As the part was being laid up, the engineering team needed to know how thick it was. “We were able to scan it and give them surface data that they were able to incorporate into revising the CAD models for that particular part,” Wesley says. He also says that within the past few weeks, he scanned a part using Verisurf, created a CAD file and sent it to the customer, who used that file to design other parts that would connect to the parts from Flying S “so they would be ready to incorporate it into their prototype when they receive the parts.”

The landing gear part scanned into Verisurf.

Reverse Engineering and More

Verisurf’s uses go beyond part validation. “It’s such a versatile tool because we can use it on so many different things,” Krupp says. For example, its ability to create and append CAD models makes it useful for reverse engineering. It played a key role in reverse engineering a part for a vintage aircraft, a 1930s Spartan Executive owned by Flying S’s owner. “There aren't that many of those aircraft made or flying,” Wesley explains, “And a landing gear component needed some serious help.” The owner brought the part to the inspection department, where Wesley scanned it and created a point cloud of the part. This included not only the shape of the part, but also data on mounting points and some primitive data on the planes. The engineering team used this data to design an improved part which the machine shop made. Then the new part went through inspection, where the team checked hole sizes and ensured it fit with the original hardware. “It's moved on to its final home,” on the vintage aircraft, Wesley says.

The newly machined landing gear part.

Flying S also frequently uses Verisurf to design fixtures that hold parts during CMM inspection. “We use the CAD tools inside of Verisurf and, by extension, inside of Mastercam,” Wesley explains. “They make it pretty easy to create a solid model for a fixture based off the CAD for the original part.” The team then produces the fixtures on its Prusa 3D printers. Wesley estimates the inspection department uses this process for 25 to 30% of the parts it inspects.

Solutions, Not Software

As a growing company, Flying S is taking on interns and onboarding new employees. Verisurf’s user-friendly interface and integration with Mastercam help streamline onboarding, as does its ability to work with all of Flying S’s inspection equipment, regardless of type or brand.

Verisurf provides a single platform for not only the inspection department but also engineering and machining to use. This streamlines onboarding and training. Verisurf also provides continued training and support, so Flying S can refine and expand its use of the software.

But training doesn’t stop after onboarding. Flying S brings in Verisurf for training regularly, not just to get new inspectors up to speed, but also to lead advanced training for experienced inspectors. For Flying S’s next training session, Verisurf is “sending one of their top guys here to do it,” Jones adds. “It means a lot to us.” Wesley says the team is hoping to increase its proficiency with 3D scanning. “Verisurf has the capability of scanning a part and then correlating it with the model and building out your data from the real part from that scan.” This will help Flying S expand its reverse engineering capabilities. “There’s a lot of old airplanes flying around. It'd be cool to be able to build parts for those,” Wesley says. “We've seen the need for that knowledge, and we're going to try to try to leverage that into how we use Reverse.”

Flying S’s relationship with Verisurf has even expanded from software to hardware, with the shop buying new inspection equipment through Verisurf. “If we buy it from Verisurf, their engineer will be here on site to help us set it up and make sure it's working correctly in their software,” Wesley explains. Krupp also notes that major inspection purchases typically require a new seat of Verisurf. “Having all of that stuff bundled together makes the process really easy,” he says.

LK Metrology has introduced the Surfacers SRP, a plug-and-play probe with a resolution of one micron. This probe is designed for analyzing the surface roughness of a component as part of a CNC measuring cycle on any CMM equipped with an industry-standard probe head. The Surfacers SRP is designed to assess small, fine-scale variations and imperfections in the surface, including peaks and valleys, rather than larger-scale features like waviness or form.

The sensor removes the need for secondary surface roughness inspection, whether conducted manually with a hand-held instrument or automatically at a separate metrology station. Manufacturers can perform comprehensive inspections on a component in a single setup within a CMM environment, resulting in significant savings in time and cost. Engineered for ease of use and versatility, the equipment comes with its own downloadable application software, facilitating integration without requiring third-party software.

The Surfacers SRP mounting is compatible with change racks, enabling automated sensor changing and improved operational efficiency. User-friendly swapping between touch probes, tactile scanning probes, noncontact laser scanners and the roughness probe provides users with extended multisensor capability.

At the core of the roughness probe is a special body that accommodates three interchangeable, skidded, stainless-steel probe modules. One module evaluates flat, conical and cylindrical surfaces, another measures concave, convex and spherical surfaces, and a third is suited for inspecting grooves more than 3-mm wide by less than 10-mm deep, or steps of similar height.

During operation, the CMM positions a stylus in contact with the part, after which the machine axes remain stationary while the probe moves the stylus across the surface under investigation. Wireless communication with the CMM computer via a Bluetooth 4.0 adapter provides seamless data transfer for analysis, simplifying installation.

The skid serves as a straight-line datum that guides the stylus across a surface to maintain probe stability. The stylus travels independently of and slightly in front of the skid, with surface deviations recorded as the difference in the relative movements of the two elements in the Z-axis. This design captures even minute surface irregularities with high accuracy.

Further improving the precision of the Surfacers SRP is an integrated preload mechanism, which isolates the stylus from the CMM kinematics during operation, providing accurate and consistent results regardless of external vibration or machine movement. The force exerted by the stylus tip, which has a radius of 5 microns, avoids surface deformation. The measurable roughness range is 0.5-6.5 Ra, representing the average roughness between the profile and the mean line.

Dave Robinson, marketing manager at LK Metrology, says, “By integrating surface roughness measurement directly onto the CMM, we are providing manufacturers with a powerful tool to streamline their inspection processes, reduce costs and improve product quality. The ability to perform multiple metrology functions on a single platform eliminates the need for time-consuming transfers of components and promotes greater accuracy by maintaining part orientation between measurements.”

Transcript

Brent Donaldson 

Welcome to Kennesaw, Georgia, home of Win-Tech, a precision machine shop that's as dedicated to machining as it is its mission.

John Hudson 

Veterans who first time offenders, if they can get into the program, it’s roughly a two year program. It's pretty intense process that they go through, but then when they graduate, their records expunged.

Brent Donaldson 

Inside you'll see how this veteran and female co owned company produces aerospace and defense parts with the security standards to match, including level two CMMC compliance.

Allison Giddens 

We talked to Dennis and said, you know, we want raises, and here's why. And we gave him justification, and Dennis agreed, and he said, “Okay, I'll give you a raise.” And John said, “No, I want Allison to make what I make.” No duh, I go into business with somebody like this, you know.

Brent Donaldson 

But what really sets Win-Tech apart is their award-winning approach to people. Named the 2025 Top Shops Honoree in Human Resources, win tech opens the door for the next generation of machinists and gives second chances through programs like Cobb County's Veterans Treatment Court. Stick with us as we explore the technology, the culture and the leadership that make Win-Tech one of the most distinctive shops we've seen.

John Hudson 

So welcome to Win-Tech. This is the shop floor behind you. Here is what we call the fishbowl. That's where the guys will go in and do all their programming. Well, our shop floor is laid out with our majority of our NCS are up here, as well as our manual machine in the middle of the shop, which you'll see, that's going to be our QC, and then down on the bottom side, that's going to be more of our fab well water jet area up here, we have both horizontal and vertical NC mills.

Brent Donaldson 

And just generally, what, what kind of materials are you guys handling day to day?

John Hudson 

I make a joke. We'll cut anything from acetyl to zinc.

Brent Donaldson 

And the markets that you're serving, the industries that you're serving, primarily defense, aerospace…

John Hudson 

Aerospace, if the customer is willing to pay us to make their parts, we'll be happy to make them that's what it boils down to. Dennis Winslow started a company in 1988 she was probably 13. That's probably the first time I met her, and she came in here to do our website.

Allison Giddens 

I lived next door to Dennis and his wife at the time, I came in 2006 because I was working for big corporation downtown Atlanta, got passed up for promotion. Called my dad crying, said, “I want to quit my job.” He said, “You can't quit your job until you find a new one.” So I called Dennis and said, “I want to come work for you.” And he said, “You don't know what I do.” And so I came in for an interview, and he slid the number across the table from me. It was in that office, and it was 30% less than what I was making. Slid it across, and he said, “I know it's not what you expect, but if you trust me, you could run the place one day.”

John Hudson 

We have a good variety of sizes of machines. This one here is our biggest. I got roughly 56-inch by 86-inch table on that one. So that's my biggest one. I don't have anything currently on it, but a lot of times we'll take and set sheets up there, and we can actually machine the parts out of a whole sheet, and then they're ready to go. Guess the biggest part we've ever made on that is probably about 110 inches long. It was a big plate that went on a table. When I interviewed with Dennis, he's like, “Well, where do you want to be?” I was like, “I want your chair.” And it's funny, because the day we bought the company, Allison and I bought the company, he had actually already cleared out that office in there. And he's like, “All right, come here. I want a picture of this.”

Brent Donaldson 

What year was that? 2020?

John Hudson 

Yeah, we're not the smartest people. We have still in our manual tool shop. I guess we have jig grind capability, ID, grind, OD grind, jig, surface grind, as well as honing.

Brent Donaldson 

Obviously, you guys won the 2025 Top Shops Award in the category of HR and workforce. As far as your hiring strategies go, you have outreach programs to recently incarcerated, obviously, to local tech schools.

John Hudson 

The Veterans Program is very interesting. We have two guys that are going through the veterans program right now that work for us. If they can get into the program. It's roughly a two year program. They have to go to court every week. They have to check in with their mentors. Every week they have assignments that are given to them by the judge, pretty intense process that they go through, but then when they graduate, their their records expunged. I love that program, so that's the reason it's near and dear to my heart.

Allison Giddens 

And a graduation ceremony is life changing.

John Hudson 

Being former military, I can tell you this. You go to you go to basement, you learn all these skills, how to be a soldier, sailor, a Marine. I don't care you learn this, and it's ingrained into you Monday through Friday, or if you're deployed overseas, it's seven days a week. You got someone telling you what to do, when to do it, where to do it, what you're going to wear. I don't think there's enough transition time. They've started getting better with this, transitioning these folks out of the military, because you got to decompress these people. I mean, don't get me wrong, they can function on their own. They can go take care of any business they need that they've been trying to take care of. But what they don't have, is that coming home and being able to dinner interact with all the different realities that hit them in civilian life, so they find themselves doing things that they typically wouldn't have done because they're not They haven't had that time to adapt. This is somewhat of a challenging part, plus one minus two on the slot tolerances and the depths are plus or minus the thou, I think, but cutting all that over that distance and keeping it flat within the fowl that they're wanting, that makes it a makes it a brutal part.

Brent Donaldson 

And you've got to have really rigid fixturing for this right, correct?

John Hudson 

And that's just the end mill work on that alone is crazy. And funny thing is, is they were using a, I don't know, a 50-thou endmill. And he was doing 10-thou cuts. He kept breaking tools. Ten-thou deep, well, he went to 20. And then just started running like clockwork. So instead of taking, you know, most people, oh, take less. No, he took more because his tool got in there and he wasn't having the harmonics build up. So it was actually cutting instead of

Allison Giddens 

We're both involved with the Chattahoochee Technical College, local technical college, and we’ve both been involved with them for years. There's a wonderful professor over there that students really respect, and John's on their like advisory board. I've been on their board of trustees for their foundation. And for years, we kept saying, you know, it's great because the students love that professor, and it's great to have young adults excited about manufacturing, but where do those where does kids come from? You know, the high schools, they're not if they're not teaching manufacturing, where's the pipeline? And so we started pushing and kicking and pitching fits to high school. I would get I would pretty much I got uninvited back to a school board meeting because I wouldn't shut up. And finally, next thing you know now, they're building a what they're calling a Cobb Innovation Technology Academy down the street, and it's going to include a manufacturing pipeline, manufacturing pathway for high school students. I don't know that we sought out some sort of, hey, we're going to try to be the best at HR. I think we just kind of always knew if we can get the right people. I mean, like we've got, we've got a really good management team, Jimmy, Mark and Rose our management team, they're all very different, and they're very good at what they do. They they give a damn. And that's really hard to find, I think, anywhere. And I think if you can find leaders that care. And then I think if you can find people ready to learn and ready to admit when, oops, I messed up this part, and I want to know why, I think that's 80% of the problem, right, I think then you're, you're on the right track to get in somewhere.

Brent Donaldson 

Compliance on the CMMC side. Okay, all right, so, Allison, you've kind of led that effort, yeah. What has it been like, and what did you have to do, especially on the shop floor, to make it happen?

Allison Giddens 

The CMMC piece to us, has been a very tough road, but finding somebody who knew what they were doing was really key in all of this, and the baby steps. I mean, we've been doing this for six, seven years, and just bit by bit, knowing that it wasn't something we needed to okay, we need to gather all this documentation overnight. It was bit by bit. It was figuring out budget wise, okay, if we altered this, would it make our lives easier? Could people, you know, follow the rules easier? If we did it this way? How much is this going to cost us? Do you want to name who helps? Sure, Sentinel Blue. Sentinel Blue. Andy Sauer and his team, phenomenal. So we did not do a traditional gap assessment, because a traditional gap assessment, we felt we were already doing all along, from what I understand out in the marketplace, those are costing anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 for a small business. So it kind of depends on your environment. We have, you know, some of the small business challenges, I think, you know, in our environment are things like some of these machines, you have an option. You can, you can connect them all to the internet, and then they all, what they say, become in scope, because you've got them on your network.

John Hudson 

She's been asked to speak several different places on this and one of them was pretty cool.

Allison Giddens 

Yeah, we got invited the Pentagon sat down with Under Secretary of Defense to go through some kind of real-life examples of how this would affect us. And I helped to co-write a risk management strategies in small business environment and how it would affect and got told that that was apparently making the rounds at the Pentagon. So it's, it's nice to hear. I get pinged now and then from some friends at the Pentagon now. Now I call them friends, some friends at the Pentagon that say, you know, hey, we're watching your LinkedIn posts. You know, keep up the Small Business speed of the drum.

Brent Donaldson

What would you say to people who are stumbling on videos like this through recommendations on YouTube. How do you talk about what you do and why it matters and why it's important? Like, why should anybody care? Like, what you guys are doing.

John Hudson 

Here, because they get to sleep quietly in their bed and not have to worry about, you know, 99.9% of the population in the United States, they don't have to worry about the government kicking in their door and dragging them off somewhere. That's because of the war fighters. That's because of our our soldiers, our Sailors, Marines, Air Force. You know, that's why, and that's the majority of what we do here goes to support our war fighters.

Allison Giddens 

I think manufacturing in general too. I think you always put it really well that manufacturing is a career for somebody to think about. If you learn how to make a part, how to run a machine, you'll never, ever be looking for a job, you'll always have a skill.

John Hudson 

That's any skilled trade. I don't care if you're an electrician, plumber, if you if you learn a skilled trade, you can go anywhere in this country, in most other countries, and make a living for yourself and your family.

Brent Donaldson 

Hey everybody. Brent Donaldson with Modern Machine Shop here, and if you just watch that video, and you're thinking, “Boy, I'd like my shop to be featured in the view for my shop series,” then just send us an email at shop video, at mmsonline.com, and tell us what sets your shop apart.

Source | NIAR ATLAS FPP Documentary

Wichita State University’s (WSU, Kan., U.S.) National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has released a documentary-style video that shows how their ATLAS lab team approaches fiber patch placement (FPP) leveraging their 10-axis Samba Pro system by Cevotec (Munich, Germany) — featuring an ultra-fast Scara pick-and-place robot and a six-axis tool manipulator — and how it’s relevant to current challenges in aerospace composites manufacturing. The video can be found below.

The video offers a concise look at FPP process intent and aerospace use cases, including performance test results. In addition, for those who prefer the technical basis, NIAR’s SAMPE‑recognized paper, “Design Optimization and Analysis Validation of Complex Composite Parts Manufactured Using Fiber Patch Placement,” offers additional information on how complex geometry parts can experience significant performance gains by design optimizations that are unique to FPP.

What can aerospace programs take from this? FPP is best used in applications dominated by geometrical complexities like conical transitions, step features and domed shapes (convex /concave) — think fairings, antenna domes, nacelle inlets and sandwich structures with chamfer transitions. NIAR’s work results points to the same outcome: For challenging shapes, where other technologies struggle, a patch-based laminate strategy can maintain the fiber orientation and achieve thickness build-up close to the design requirements at a production rate that future aerospace programs are targeting.

In addition, Cevotec Samba systems supports true multi‑material placement in a single automated sequence, including auxiliary materials like adhesive films and glass fiber veils. Along with adjustable gaps/overlaps definition of the laminate, a distinctive FPP design feature, full single-layer coverage can be achieved. According to Cevotec, this differentiates FPP for complex material stacks and is a key enabler for full lay-up automation of high-performance structures like sandwich panels.

NIAR offers a broad range of development services to aerospace manufacturers, including material tests, prototyping and process development with FPP on-site in the U.S. This enables manufacturers to reduce their risks in the deployment of new technologies and typically shortens overall development cycles. Moreover, Cevotec offers a complimentary first screening and feasibility evaluation.

Record growth will drive increased use of composites, which are playing a key part in the rapid innovation of launch vehicle and satellite structures. Source | Novaspace, Kerberos Engineering, Orbion Space Technology, Patz Materials and Technology/A&P Technology

Market intelligence group Novaspace (Paris, France) has published the 28^th edition of its annual Satellites to Be Built and Launched, forecasting a decade of record-breaking orbital growth. More than 43,000 satellites are expected to be launched by 2035 — an average of 12 satellites and 8 tons of payload every day. This surge is set to drive a $665 billion market in manufacturing and launch services, fueled by mega-constellations, defense demand and rapid innovation in launch technology.

“We’re seeing a rapid expansion in satellite activity and a shift in how space is used,” says Gabriel Deville, manager at Novaspace. “Satellites are no longer just custom-built assets, they’re evolving into interconnected nodes within decentralized networks. This marks a new chapter in orbital complexity and global connectivity.”

Source | Novaspace

Five mega-constellations will account for 66% of satellites launched between 2025 and 2034 yet contribute just 11% of total market value. The rise of such non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) systems and the shift away from legacy geostationary/ geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) models has largely been fueled by Starlink’s demonstration of scalability and flexibility. Budget priorities, meanwhile, sits with defense. Defense remains the market’s economic anchor, capturing 48% of total value despite representing just 9% of satellite volume.

Read about composites in launchers and satellites:

• Composites end markets: New space (2025)
• Revolutionizing space composites: A new era of satellite materials
• Ultra-thin woven fabric enables 90% resource reduction in satellite solar array manufacturing
• Low-cost, efficient CFRP anisogrid lattice structures

Source | CIRA 

Looking to the launch market, the space transportation sector remains under bottleneck, with SpaceX enjoying a near-monopoly over heavy launch activity in the West. As several providers strive to introduce or ramp up competing vehicles, Starship promises to profoundly redefine space transportation and the space economy at large.

Overall, the manufacturing and launch market offers significant revenue potential, however, targeting this opportunity will require a nuanced approach.

Only 7% of the manufacturing market in value is fully open to any manufacturer and 70% is considered “nationally captive,” with the remainder locked by vertical integration of constellations. To compete here, consideration of strategic partnerships through the supply chain is now a must.

About the report

The 28th edition of Satellites to Be Built and Launched offers a 10-year market forecast along with a 20-year strategic outlook, covering demand, supply, technologies and trends across the satellite and launch ecosystem. It includes a complete database of all satellites launched and planned, based on Novaspace’s proprietary forecasts.

Source | Novaspace

The Classic edition provides an in-depth analysis of satellite applications and missions, satellite operators, and users and technology trends in PDF format. It includes Excel databases, covering all satellites, launched in the last decade, as well as satellites currently under construction, and launch forecast for the next decade as well as detailed status and maturity assessments of 550 commercial constellations of five satellites or more and discusses of business cases of the four mega-constellations.

The Premium edition adds access to quarterly update of the satellites launches and manufacturing contracts as well as an extended database of all government and commercial satellites launched and to be launched (10-year backlog and forecast), featuring 30 columns with detailed breakdown: constellation, specific application, manufacturing and launch contract status, information about satellite operator, manufacturer and launch provider.

With more than 40-year legacy of expertise in guiding public and private entities in strategic decision-making, Novaspace offers end-to-end consulting services, from project strategy definition to implementation, providing data-led perspectives on critical issues. Novaspace presents an expanded portfolio of services, featuring combined expertise in management and technology consulting, top-tier executive summits and market intelligence. 

This week’s Pic is of a structural component for the Boeing 787. In the background is the form made via Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD), a wire-fed method of directed energy deposition (DED) developed at Norsk Titanium. In the foreground is its final form after finish machining. 

Why wire-fed DED? It offers a way to make titanium parts with forging-like properties at a lower cost. 

• Material: Titanium 6Al4V
• Process: Rapid Plasma Deposition
• Heat treating: None required to proceed to machining
• Final weight: 0.45 kg

This week’s Pic is the upper section of an engine nozzle, manufactured by Sciaky Inc. for Intuitive Machines’ February 2024 IM-1 mission to the Moon. It was the primary source of thrust for descent during the mission. 

This engine component was made using a Sciaky electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) system, which was said to provide shorter lead times, lessened material waste, cost savings, and increased design flexibility. This large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) process also offered the ability to create near-net shape parts, eliminating long postprocessing times and costs. 

• Material type: Refractory alloy
• Process: EBAM, performed by Sciaky
• Production Time: 16 hours

Uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) design used as a platform to test and demonstrate advanced technologies, particularly those related to sustainability and to the digital thread. Source (All Images) | University of Sheffield AMR

Continuous tows were selectively placed along paths of maximum load using a TFP process to stitch the fibers to a James Cropper rCF nonwoven substrate.

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC, Catcliffe, U.K.) has realized an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) wing design using tailored fiber placement (TFP) of a James Cropper (Burneside, U.K.) recycled carbon fiber (rCF) nonwoven substrate. The work, used as a platform to test and demonstrate advanced technologies — particularly those related to sustainability and the digital thread — highlights how this process and material combination can achieve intricate, high-performing and sustainable preform options with optimized load paths.

Computational fluid dynamics was used to establish a load case for the wing. From there, continuous tows were selectively placed along paths of maximum load via TFP, stitching the fibers to the substrate. AMRC tested both 20 and 60 gsm nonwoven variants and found both processed well, enabling the use of very thin and lightweight plies.

John Giraldo led the development of the CoroMill M5C331, a disc-style cutter shaped to follow the 3D profile between blades. Rather than roughing in steps or plunges, the tool engages continuously, removing maximum material in a single multiaxis motion. The tool can be modified by diameter, width, number of teeth, radius of arc and pitch. Photo Credits: All images provided by Sandvik Coromant

Blisk machining is a testing ground for process control. While it’s often the finishing operations that receive the most attention, it may be the roughing operations of integrally bladed rotors that matter most. Why? Because this is where the biggest gains or failures are to be found, especially in materials like titanium or nickel-based superalloys.

I recently sat for an in-depth conversation with John Giraldo, aerospace engineering manager for Sandvik Coromant in the Americas, where he serves as one of the foremost technical experts on blisk machining and spent more than a decade as a specialist in aerospace and machining projects. Aerospace shops understand the need to leave precise stock for semi-finishing and finishing operations, Giraldo says, yet they often rely on roughing strategies that add time, consume tools unnecessarily or introduce risk.

“If the roughing isn’t optimized, you can be wasting time, burning through end mills or even creating distortion that sabotages the rest of the process,” he says.

During our conversation, as well as in a recent webinar for Modern Machine Shop, Giraldo detailed four roughing strategies tested on both Inconel and titanium blisks: full slotting, high-feed side milling, plunge milling and curve slotting. Each method carries different trade-offs in terms of cycle time, tool life, chip evacuation and process security. The goal isn’t to declare a single winner, but to help shops make smarter, more aggressive choices without sacrificing control.

Four Approaches to Roughing

This image shows the CoroMill Plura Gannet solid carbide end mill stepover application for plunge milling, and the forward and side stepover limits when applying the tool.

Roughing is about bulk material removal, but the strategy used for blisk production makes a dramatic difference. “There’s no single best method,” Giraldo says. “The blade geometry, machine dynamics, CAM software, and even how many blend points you’re allowed to use all factor in.” The four approaches we’ll examine here are full slotting, high-feed side milling, plunge milling and curve slotting.

Full slotting is best used when geometry or CAM limitations prevent more advanced strategies. The method uses large radial engagement, medium depth and lower feed rates to carve material between blades. The upside of full slotting is simplicity (due to straightforward tool paths that require minimal programming) but the downside is high thermal load, risk of tool breakage and, often, shorter tool life. Giraldo points to a Sandvik test on Inconel 718 where a solid end mill wore out after just 28 passes at 10-mm depth, versus 39 passes at 7.5 mm. “Full slotting is the least secure method,” he says.

When paired with CAM strategies like adaptive or dynamic toolpaths, high-feed side milling uses a small radial step-over and full flute engagement at high feed rates to improve efficiency and reduce cutting forces. 

High-feed side milling, when paired with CAM strategies like adaptive or dynamic tool paths, takes the opposite approach. This method uses a small radial step-over and full flute engagement at high feed rates to improve efficiency and reduce cutting forces.

Since the strategy reduces chip load spikes, spreads heat across the tool and promotes better chip evacuation, Giraldo says that tool life can be extended significantly. One trial he ran showed more than 225 minutes longer life in titanium while still removing material faster than slotting. The trial also showed that high-feed milling reduced Inconel cycle time by two-thirds in a head-to-head comparison.

In plunge milling, the cutter engages axially in a multi-axis pattern, stepping down through the material and creating a scalloped floor and walls. These scalloped sections require semi-finishing tools to smooth over, but plunge milling is more stable than slotting when reach and rigidity are factors.

Plunge milling is a strategy best described by its name: roughing out material via straight vertical plunges. In blisk machining it is especially useful when access is limited and tool overhangs are long, such as at the lower hub region of a blisk. Using a tool like Sandvik’s Gannet plunger, the cutter engages axially in a multi-axis pattern, stepping down through the material and creating a scalloped floor and walls as shown here. While these scalloped sections require semi-finishing tools to smooth over, plunge milling is more stable than slotting when reach and rigidity are factors. Plunge cutters are available in solid carbide and exchangeable-tip varieties that enable tailored overhangs for each level of the blade.

Curve slotting is the newest technique of the four. The technique uses a disc-style cutter that is shaped to follow the 3D profile between blades, and rather than roughing in steps or plunges, the tool engages continuously and removes maximum material in a single multiaxis motion. Giraldo led the development of the company’s M5C331 cutter specifically for this purpose, using tests that involved machining 17 Inconel slots — each in 13 minutes — using just one edge of each insert. With further optimization provided by Vericut Force software, he says that time was cut in half.

Choosing the Right Method

When choosing a roughing strategy, think back to the geometric factors that will influence your decision: blade pitch, height, curvature and allowable blend points. For example, “If the part has a tight curvature between blades, a disc-style cutter might not fit,” Giraldo explains. “But if there’s room, curve slotting becomes an extremely efficient and cost-effective solution.”

Other factors to consider include:

Machine capability: High-feed milling works well on lighter-duty five-axis machines. Curve slotting, on the other hand, may require more rigid equipment with sufficient torque and clearance.

Tool reach and assembly: Long overhangs that are necessary for deep cuts can introduce vibration. To combat this, Giraldo recommends modular assemblies with specially tuned mass dampers, exchangeable heads or shrink-fit holders depending on the level being cut.

Fixturing: Roughing strategies that require side access like plunge or curve slotting may require custom workholding to avoid interference between spindle housing and blade walls.

CAM software: High-feed milling and curve slotting require tool paths that account for air cuts, tilt transitions and chip-load variation. Giraldo’s tests for Sandvik used Vericut to optimize feed rates based on force and chip thickness predictions, extending tool life and reducing air time.

“Most CAM systems output a constant feed rate, regardless of where the cutter is in the material,” Giraldo says. “But that doesn’t reflect reality. The chip load changes as the tool enters and exits, especially with a disc cutter. Vericut lets us optimize around that, speeding up in air, slowing down during engagement and keeping chip thickness consistent.”

Where to Begin

Overhauling your blisk machining process takes time, but Giraldo says the place to start is clear: “Roughing is where you have the most flexibility and the fewest regulatory constraints. You’re not inspecting an airfoil at this stage. So that’s where the opportunity lies.”

For shops still using slotting as the default, the first step might be revisiting CAM strategies and tooling choices. From there, newer methods like curve slotting can be evaluated based on part geometry, machine capability and economic payoff.

“Even a five-year-old tool path might be holding you back,” Giraldo says. “Today’s roughing strategies are faster, more secure and more controllable if you know how to apply them.”

Radome panel under radio frequency testing. Source | Rock West Composites (RWC)

The delivery of nine Ka-band and KaKu-band radomes to R4 Integration Inc. (Fort Walton Beach, Fla., U.S.) by Rock West Composites (RWC, San Diego, Calif., U.S.) completes a contract that continues work on a previous aerospace program facilitating military search and rescue operations. The sandwich panel radomes meet multiple demanding requirements including very low view angles, a large band of frequencies, truncated schedule and no tooling. The program is anticipated to have follow-on adjacent panel designs in 2026.

The contract called for radomes made of a fiberglass and foam core sandwich configuration, following the design of the original proof of concept. The Ka-band radomes are made of Quartz Btcy1-A/4581 by Toray Advanced Composites (Morgan Hill, Calif., U.S.) and Diab (Laholm, Sweden) foam. The KaKu-band radomes are made of Toray 2510 and Diab foam with a foam tuning layer. The exterior shapes are the same and require very low view angles of 20° relative to the horizon within several frequency ranges: 10.7-14.5 gigahertz (GHz), 17.7-21.2 GHz and 27.5-31 GHz. RWC met an abbreviated schedule and used no tooling by creating a highly optimized flat panel design. The company performed in-house radio frequency testing to verify performance to requirements.

“This opportunity has enabled Rock West to demonstrate a key capability, successfully producing radomes for aerospace applications without the need for tooling, bringing better value and improved schedules to our customers and end users,” notes Adam Saunders, RWC program manager.

Safran Landing Systems produces carbon/carbon (C/C) discs for aircraft brakes. Source | Safran Group

This blog is a compilation of publicly available information on Safran Group’s (Paris, France) production of carbon fiber-reinforced carbon (carbon/carbon) brake discs for aircraft. The company published a video earlier this year (see below) that walks through its production steps. Carbon/carbon (C/C) brake discs are still one of the highest volume applications for ceramic matrix composites (CMC), but that is changing as demand increases for industrial and aerospace end uses. Having toured Brembo’s facility near Bergamo, Italy, which produces C/C brakes for racing cars (there is also a sidebar on their CMC brake disc production for street cars), I thought it would be interesting to look at Safran’s production sites, output and innovations in processing and ongoing initiatives for increased sustainability.

With more than 40 years of experience — having introduced carbon fiber-reinforced C/C brakes on Airbus A310 aircraft in 1985 — Safran Landing Systems (Vélizy-Villacoublay, France) claims the title of world leader in C/C brakes for aircraft with more than 100 seats. It reportedly equips 55% of these commercial airliners worldwide and supports 500+ airlines and 1500+ military programs. The company produces carbon brakes at three facilities: Villeurbanne, France (in Lyon); Walton, Kentucky in the U.S. (south of Cincinnati, Ohio) and in Sendayan, Malaysia. It is also building a fourth facility roughly 30 minutes east of Lyon, set to open by 2030.

Carbon brakes are lighter, more efficient and two to three times more durable than steel brakes, helping operators reduce fuel consumption, cost and CO₂ emissions. Safran reports that the quantity of CO₂ prevented during flight thanks to C/C brakes is 10 times more than what is generated during the brake manufacture, totaling several hundred tons of emissions avoided fleet-wide every year.

Production worldwide

At its historic Messier-Bugatti-Dowty site in Villeurbanne, Safran reported a 2023 production of 5,000 wheels and 6,000 brakes per year.

Source | Safran Group

The Walton, Kentucky site opened in 1999 and reportedly produces close to 140,000 carbon brake disks and more than 9,500 wheels and brake sets per year. Its 350 employees support Boeing 737, 777 and 787 aircraft, the Airbus A320 family, and C-17 and KC-135 military aircraft. The company announced an expansion in 2023 to include 92 new jobs, new equipment and automation to boost production.

Source | Safran Group

Celebrating its 10^th anniversary in January 2025, the Sendayan, Malaysia site produces 350 metric tonnes of C/C per year, including roughly 80,000 new carbon brake disks. Each year, it also refurbishes more than 15,000 heat sinks — or heat packs, comprising a stack of brake discs —and overall supports 100-150 airlines in the region.

Carbon aircraft brake configuration

Each wheel in an aircraft’s landing gear is equipped with a brake. A common configuration for carbon brakes uses four rotational discs (rotors) and three or four stationary discs (stators) alternating in a heat stack or heat pack. The rotors engage with the wheel’s drive keys and thus rotate with the wheel. The stators include an end plate facing outward and a pressure plate at the other end of the stack (see images below).

During braking, fluid from the brake piston moves the pressure plate to compress the rotors and stators against the end plate. The resulting friction converts kinetic energy into heat, decelerating the wheel. During landing, the C/C rotors and stators can see 700°C, but C/C brake discs can easily withstand 1000°C and higher. This heat resistance is what enables carbon brakes to maintain structural integrity without failure or degradation (e.g., brake fade).

Source | Aircraft Science, “How Landing Gear Works – Part 1: Brakes”

SepCarb IV for Long Life brakes

In April 2018, Safran worked with Airbus to install new Long Life carbon brakes on A320neo aircraft. That product, the SepCarb IV brake, was the first C/C brake put into service since the release of the Sepcarb III 15 years prior. This new “Long Life” brake features two major innovations: SepCarb IV carbon and Anoxy 360, a new system to protect brake disks from oxidation. These not only provided improvements during use but also during manufacturing to address the challenge at that time of meeting the ramp in A320neo production rates.

Safran’s C/C brake production site in Villeurbanne, on the outskirts of Lyon, France, developed a unique manufacturing method for producing SepCarb IV on an increased industrial scale. Instead of performing impregnation of carbon fiber preforms with solvent and then damping or drying these as two separate steps, it combined them in the same equipment — eliminating handling in between and reducing both production time and cost.

SepCarb IV also used ceramic particles to improve wear of the C/C brake, enabling a 30% reduction in brake usage. This provided benefits not only for aircraft operators, but also further helped to meet the A320neo production rate. Safran also modified the process to reduce the amount of nitrogen it consumed during thermal processing and eliminated atmospheric emissions, collecting the process waste as a liquid instead.

A second impregnator was added in 2019, and the process was rolled out to other sites.

 

Carbon fiber (top) is used to create needled preforms (center) that are then carbonized and infiltrated with a carbon matrix to form discs (bottom). Source | Safran Group, “Genesis of a carbon brake”

As described in its July 2025 video, the manufacturing process Safran uses for its C/C brake discs involves four main steps:

• Production of carbon fiber preforms, which involves needling layers of continuous fiber.
• High-temperature carbonization of preforms and densification of the carbon matrix via chemical vapor infiltration (CVI).
• Machining the discs and performing quality assurance including dimensional checks.
• Final processing including spraying and heat treatment of an oxidation protection coating, followed by assembly of multiple discs into a single C/C brake unit.

New production site in Lyon, environmental goals

Source | Safran Group

Safran is building a new carbon brake plant at the Plaine de l’Ain Industrial Park (PIPA) near Lyon. Scheduled to open in 2030, Safran’s latest C/C brake production site will provide a 25% increase in the company’s overall production volume by 2037. The 30,000-square-meter facility will be highly automated, with ≈100 employees when it opens and double that at full capacity.

The company is targeting Lyon to be a zero-emissions facility (Scope 1 and 2). Because energy can account for up to 30% of the cost of manufacturing a carbon brake, Safran chose the Lyon site for the availability of low-carbon electricity. It will also use biomethane as its carbon matrix precursor injected during CVI. As a result, the site’s electricity and gas consumption will be reduced by nearly 30% and water consumption by 80%. In addition, the heat generated by the C/C production process will be recovered to supply a heating network. Some of these technologies will also be rolled out at other Safran C/C brake facilities.

Safran overall has committed to reduce the carbon emissions of its activities by 2030 to ≈50% compared to 2018. In its 2025 ESG report, the company reported achieving a 35% reduction in direct emissions across all its businesses in 2025 versus 2018.

For Safran Landing Systems, the Sendayan, Malaysia site has reduced its CO₂ emissions by 27% since 2018, including reuse of effluent gases released during carbon disc production to generate 20% of the site’s electricity and widespread use of variable frequency drives, which tailors the speed (and power use) of electric motors of machines to their actual needs. The site is also planning to implement a new power management system to control and optimize site utility consumption including electricity, gas and water. According to a July 2024 newsletter, the Sendayan site signed a 21-year agreement with a local solar power producer which will start in 2026 and add another 10% of renewable energy to the current electricity mix. This complements a partnership signed in 2023 with a local firm generating electricity from biomass, which covers 30% of the site’s needs.

Extending C/C disc service life, reusing waste

Another key initiative that embraces emissions reductions via circularity is a carbon brake disk refurbishment process that was developed by Safran Landing Systems more than 30 years ago. Today, around 30% of the discs it delivers to airlines are refurbished using this method.

Although the average lifespan of Safran carbon brake discs varies by aircraft model and operational factors, it is not uncommon for them to see 2,000 to 2,500 landings between overhauls. Subjected to temperatures exceeding 1,000°C on a daily basis, they do eventually wear — although lasting much longer than steel discs — and are decommissioned at a set limit before they are fully worn out.

Source | Safran Group

“By refurbishing two worn discs, we obtain two half-discs that are then reused to create a new disc,” explains Jean-Luc Noirjean, product strategy manager at Safran Landing Systems. “This refurbished disc performs just as well as a newly manufactured one. Airlines provide us with heat sinks that have reached their regulatory limit. In return, we send them a refurbished brake disc; this is what we call a standard exchange.”

The 30% of discs delivered that are refurbished means 30% less CO₂ emissions, notes Jean-Baptiste Lassalle, head of Safran Landing Systems’ Wheels and Brakes Division. “We set up this process in the mid-90s for the Airbus A300, A310 and A320 programs to reduce manufacturing costs … but it also sparked a virtuous circular economy dynamic within our operations.”

Going forward, Safran Landing Systems will investigate new ways to recycle even these refurbished aircraft brake discs at the end of their life for use in other industries. At the same time, it has implemented several waste reduction projects. “We’ve developed a process to manufacture felt from fibers that are not used during production, which represents nearly half of our fiber purchases,” says Lassalle. “This felt, which is produced by a partner company, serves as insulation for our furnaces. We’ve also set up a system to recycle machining dust from our carbon discs [for use] in cement production plants. More broadly, the projects that we are setting up aim to minimize material waste throughout our entire production cycles.”

These environmental initiatives and circular economy ramp-up have led to an organization that is increasingly methodical and structured, says Lassalle. “Last year, we created a dedicated position to consolidate evaluation methods for our product life cycles and carbon emissions. This position also focuses on enhancing the recyclability of our products. The more we develop these types of initiatives, the more we pave the way for new economic models that fully integrate circular economy principles.”

Digital transformation, future growth

Safran is also implementing a variety of digital transformation initiatives including robotic process automation (RPA) using software to automate repetitive and mundane tasks as well as cobots, augmented reality and automated machines to speed production. The company is also implementing health monitoring and predictive maintenance into its products, including brakes, and is developing ways to leverage AI. For example, Safran Landing Systems worked with its partner in machine programming, MHAC Technologies (Écully, France), to standardize and automate 3D measurement and machining of its carbon brake discs. Using machine learning, the team reduced the number of programs run for different brake discs from more than 100 down to several dozen and further accelerated production.

Source | “The Global Market for CMC”, published by the Ceramic Composites network

This continued increase in output will be needed, because the demand for carbon brakes continues to increase as aircraft fleets are modernized both for higher performance and reduced fuel consumption and emissions. This growth can be seen in the forecast shown here from the Global CMC Market Report published in 2023 by the Ceramic Composites network. Denny Schüppel, managing director for the Ceramic Composites network, notes that Safran Landing Systems is just one of several manufacturers of C/C brakes for aircraft and that non-aircraft brake applications for C/C materials are also growing quickly.

The 2023 CMC market report also includes a table showing the number of heat packs per aircraft type and notes that, depending on the number of landings per day, most aircraft receive new heat packs every 4-18 months with roughly 50% of all C/C aircraft brakes experiencing a second life. Schüppel says an update of the Global CMC Market Report is scheduled to be published in March 2026.

Carbon fiber-reinforced carbon heat pack (reprinted with permission of SGL Carbon SE) and Table 5 from “LCA-based evaluation of greenhouse gas reduction potentials of carbon/carbon wheel brakes for medium-haul aircraft”

Schüppel is also a co-author on a Nov. 2025 article that gives further details on C/C heat stacks, their production and refurbishment as it explores a life cycle assessment (LCA) versus the significant weight and fuel savings they achieve. The report finds that “even the least favorable C/C use case scenario combination relates to fewer CO₂ equivalents than the most favorable metallic use case scenario.” 

LEAP engine. Source | CFM International

Safran Aircraft Engines (Paris, France) launched its new LEAP engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) shop on Oct. 13. This Casablanca, Morocco MRO facility, which was originally announced in October 2024, is located in the Casablanca airport zone. It will support the rapidly increasing demand for CFM International (note: CFM is a 50/50 joint venture between Safran and GE Aerospace) LEAP engines, which power the majority of new-generation single-aisle commercial jets — especially the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max.

Spanning 25,000 square meters, the shop will be able to handle 150 engines a year. Operations are expected to begin in 2027, and some 600 new jobs will be created by 2030. The new facility represents an investment of around €120 million.

Safran has also chosen Morocco as the location for a new assembly line for LEAP-1A engines dedicated to Airbus aircraft. The facility will complement production at Safran’s Villaroche site in France to support the significant ramp-up in production planned by CFM International — around 2,500 LEAP engines a year from 2028. Located on a 13,000-square-meter site, the plant will be operational by the end of 2027 and will have the capacity to assemble up to 350 engines per year. The company is investing €200 million into the new facility.

This industrial complex dedicated to new-gen aircraft engines will benefit from a single test bench for both new and overhauled LEAP engines. In addition, as part of its strategy to reduce carbon emissions from its operations by 50% by 2030, compared with 2018 levels, Safran also signed a memorandum of understanding guaranteeing access to renewable energy for most of its facilities in Morocco, taking effect in 2026.

Safran is further bolstering its presence in Morocco through the expansion of three existing sites: Safran Aerosystems – Tiflet, Safran Electronics & Defense – Casablanca and Safran Electrical & Power – Ain Atiq. These newly expanded facilities will begin operations between 2026 and 2027. 

Overall, Safran is investing more than €350 million in Morocco in the two new LEAP engine facilities and the extensions. Furthermore, to support this scaling up of operations, Safran will be recruiting more than 2,000 people over the next 5 years. 

Safran has been present in Morocco for 26 years and employs more than 4,800 people at 10 sites. The group leads Morocco’s aerospace sector and maintains close partnerships with local companies and the country’s government institutions and training centers. 

SW North America’s BA W06-22 and BA 322i
multispindle machining centers are designed to provide efficiency and flexibility for manufacturers across diverse industries, including automotive, e-mobility, medical devices, aerospace, agriculture and construction equipment.

The BA W06-22 is a twin-spindle horizontal machining center built for large, lightweight parts made from aluminum and nonferrous materials. With a work envelope of 600 × 900 × 650 mm, the machine is well suited for machining battery trays, aerospace structures and agricultural components with demanding tolerances and surface finish requirements.

The BA 322i is a fully integrated, twin-spindle machining center with onboard robotics and workpiece storage, enabling continuous, lights-out production. With its compact footprint and automation-ready design, the BA 322i is suitable for medical device components, aerospace fasteners and automotive parts requiring both speed and precision.

Syensqo’s end-to-end double diaphragm forming (DDF) system. Source | Syensqo

Syensqo (Alpharetta, Ga., U.S.) and aerospace and defense company Bell Textron Inc. (Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.), an aerospace and defense company, have joined forces to accelerate the industrialization of composites.

Bell is an early adopter of Syensqo’s patented double diaphragm forming (DDF) manufacturing process, which when coupled with its fast-cure aerospace prepreg Cycom EP 2750, has proven efficient and automatable processing for high-rate, high-volume composites manufacturing.

Bell qualified and industrialized this technology quickly, achieving high-rate production of aerospace composite parts. Implementing the process has brought major benefits such as decreased operational costs while generating positive environmental aspects such as reduced waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, DDF has enabled the relief of autoclaves use for curing Bell’s small- to medium-size parts, enabling the autoclaves’ use for larger parts instead.

“After more than 30 years our Syensqo-Bell relationship continues to bring innovative solutions to benefit the composite industry,” says Marc Doyle, business executive vice president of Syensqo Composite Materials. “Syensqo’s customer support model is based on the belief that design, material and manufacturing are all interrelated and key to a successful increase in composites adoption. Our teams are structured to support this model and customer collaborations are fundamental in working toward a more industrialized composites industry.”

Cycom EP2190, now included in the NCAMP database, will enable faster aerospace qualifications. Source | Syensqo

Syensqo (Brussel, Belgium) has announced the addition of its Cycom EP2190 epoxy prepreg to the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP) database. This milestone provides customers with standardized, publicly available qualification data packages, lowering barriers for adoption and enabling faster timelines for aerospace programs.

The NCAMP datasets cover EP2190 unidirectional (UD) tape on intermediate modulus (Teijin IMS65) fiber and plain-weave fabric on standard modulus (Syensqo Thornel T650) fiber. With NCAMP publication, OEMs and Tier suppliers gain access not only to material property data, but also to comprehensive qualification reports, statistical analyses, material specifications and process specifications. According to Syensqo, this full suite of documentation significantly reduces the time and cost of adoption for new aerospace programs.

Cycom EP2190 is a high-performance thermoset material designed for demanding primary structures. It delivers enhanced toughness while maintaining optimal compression properties — a balance critical for commercial aerospace, defense and advanced air mobility (AAM) applications.

“Having Cycom EP2190 in the NCAMP database enables our customers to efficiently adopt this high-performance material and rapidly move into the design phase of their programs,” says Greg Kelly, director of product and asset management, Syensqo Composites. “This is particularly impactful for AAM and defense customers seeking proven, readily available material systems.”

Over the last several years, Syensqo has further broadened its EP2190 portfolio beyond its core UD tape and fabric forms to include AFP carbon tape, S2 glass tapes and the required complementary glass fabrics. These expanded offerings provide engineers with greater versatility across both primary and secondary structures.

Cycom EP2190 is currently produced at Syensqo’s Wrexham, U.K. facility, with plans to expand production to North America as demand grows.

Source | Airbus

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL, New Delhi, India) is to build a private sector helicopter Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vemagal, Karnataka, India, which will produce Airbus’ (Toulouse, France) H125 helicopters. The move is set to expand South Asia’s potential in the rotorcraft market. 

The “Made in India” H125 helicopter will develop new civil and para-public market segments and also meet the Indian armed force’s requirement for a light multi-role helicopter, especially on the icy heights of the country’s Himalayan frontiers. Plans include a military version, the H125M, to be offered out of this Indian factory with high levels of indigenized components and technologies.

Tata intends to undertake manufacturing and testing of H125 helicopters including assembly, integration and testing of structural mechanical, electrical systems and components into a complete helicopter and final flight tests required before the delivery of the helicopter to customers, which is expected to begin in early 2027. The helicopter will be available for exports in the South Asian region as well.

“This is our second FAL in collaboration with Airbus and further reinforces the partnership between Tata and Airbus for India,” says Sukaran Singh, CEO of managing director of Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.

Tata is well placed in the Indian aerospace sector with capabilities to build and deliver fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Its Composite Center of Excellence supports aerospace, space and defense applications, offering expertise in monolithic and sandwich layup, nondestructive testing and quality management systems, and more. This expertise is being proven in the company’s production of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale fighter aircraft fuselage, a new contract for aerostructure assemblies with FACC and work with Airbus’ C295 aircraft, to name a few.

Airbus’ relationship with India began more than 60 years ago on the back of an industrial collaboration agreement with the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to produce the Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, which have served the Indian armed forces with distinction. 

The H125 FAL is the second Airbus aircraft assembly plant Tata Advanced Systems is building in India, after the C295 military aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat — demonstrating Airbus’ long-term commitment to developing a holistic aerospace ecosystem in India across all dimensions: manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, design, digital and human capital development. Airbus sources components and services worth about $1.4-plus billion every year from India, including complex systems such as aircraft doors, flap-track beams and helicopter cabin aerostructures.

The H125, a single-engine helicopter with an accumulated 40 million flight hours worldwide, is already highly composites-intensive, which is supported by the Composites Shop Center of Excellence at Airbus Helicopters in Fort Erie, Canada. This facility delivers everything from engine cowlings to fairings and coverings.

Source | Teijin Carbon, A&P Technology

Teijin Carbon (Wuppertal, Germany) and A&P Technology (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.), have jointly developed IMS65 PAEK Bimax biaxial fabric, a rate-enabling solution using Teijin Carbon’s Tenax TPUD IMS65 PAEK product, a thermoplastic unidirectional (UD) tape. Bimax is designed to meet growing demand for scalable, high-speed production of composites in aerospace, space, defense and other evolving markets.

Tenax TPUD IMS65 PAEK — a high-quality UD tape based on polyaryletherketone (PAEK) resin — is slit into narrow widths and braided by A&P Technology into a 65"-wide +/-45° fabric. The +/-45° braid architecture has minimal crimp, offering a high translation of tape properties while providing optimal drapability for complex geometries. With a fiber areal weight of 184 gsm and 34% PAEK content, IMS65 PAEK Bimax enables out-of-autoclave processing and vacuum bag only consolidation, thus reducing manufacturing time while enhancing mechanical performance and impact resistance.

IMS65 PAEK Bimax fabric’s features mentioned above translate into:

• High fiber volume and low crimp for high mechanical performance
• Extreme drapability for deep-draw parts
• Reduced layup time per layer. The wide fabric enables quick laydown of biaxial reinforcement
• Native air evacuation pathways for optimal consolidation of thick components
• Room temperature preform placement with spot tacking to simplify production workflows.

According to partners, the braided fabric meets or exceeds the properties of existing National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP)-qualified PAEK prepregs, offering a robust and scalable solution for next-generation composite structures. 

Source | ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia (Kemble, U.K. and Everett, Wash., U.S.) has been awarded design organization approval (DOA) by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), a critical milestone on its path to certifying a hydrogen-electric engine intended for Part 23 aircraft. The accreditation confirms that the CAA is satisfied that ZeroAvia has the technical expertise, facilities and capabilities to design safe and reliable products, and is prepared to comply with stringent requirements for certification.

ZeroAvia reports that, through this award, it has “become the first company globally seeking to certify a hydrogen-electric aviation powertrain to receive DOA accreditation from a national regulator.” The award confirms that a manufacturer is qualified to design and hold a type certificate (TC) for propulsion systems developed under commercial aviation regulations. These requirements are intended to ensure safe global market entry and have been adopted by other regulatory authorities, including the EASA and the FAA. 

Securing DOA represents an essential enabler toward the company’s goal of securing a type certificate for the ZA600 — a 600-kilowatt powertrain which uses fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen.

Achieving DOA status follows two other significant regulatory milestones for ZeroAvia in 2025, with the U.S. FAA issuing both G-1 and P-1 issue papers in relation to ZeroAvia’s bid to certify its 600-kilowatt electric propulsion system (EPS). The 600-kilowatt EPS is made up of the company’s motor and power electronics technology and is both an integral part of the overall ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain, and a power-source agnostic electric engine in its own right, with a range of applications. 

Earlier this year, ZeroAvia also confirmed that RVL Aviation, an airline in Derby, intends to be the first operator to fly the ZA600 engine in a Cessna Caravan 208b on cargo routes in the U.K. The company is also working to scale the hydrogen-electric propulsion technology for larger segments of aircraft and has secured thousands of engine pre-orders with airlines across the world. 

The company has established a range of test facilities at its U.K. R&D and flight testing center at Cotswold Airport, enabling an efficient testing program to satisfy the means of compliance that it is in the process of agreeing with the CAA. After rigorous inspection of the facilities, interviews with ZeroAvia’s team and audit of its process, the CAA was able to award the DOA.  

ACMA CEO Cindy Squires (left) and SAMPE CEO Rebekah Stacha (right) kick off CAMX 2025 by discussing supply chains and sustainability challenges, along with opportunities for innovation.
Source (All Images) | CW

Trade shows like the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) often intersect with the relentless pace of magazine production. As my colleagues and I explore the show floor, we’re simultaneously racing against deadlines, finalizing articles and ensuring content is ready to publish. Back at the office, the whirlwind continues, catching up on projects left midstream. Before you know it, days or weeks have passed.

Yet, CAMX 2025, held in mid-September in Orlando, Florida, demands a deeper dive. With nearly 6,000 attendees and more than 500 exhibitors from across the globe, this year’s event — co-produced by ACMA and SAMPE — offered a snapshot of the composites industry’s trajectory, particularly in key markets like aerospace and infrastructure.

The opening general session, led by ACMA CEO Cindy Squires and SAMPE CEO Rebekah Stacha, set a powerful tone. Addressing a rapidly evolving global landscape, the pair underscored the dual nature of today’s industry — unprecedented challenges in supply chains and sustainability, paired with immense opportunities for innovation. As Squires stated, “From sustainability to next-generation applications, the conversations and partnerships formed here will propel composites forward at a time when the world needs our solutions more than ever.”

Hexcel is partnering with A&P Technology, Hawthorne Composites, NIAR and the AFRL to use braiding and overbraiding techniques to enable high-rate production of mass aircraft solutions for defense. 

Aerospace remains a cornerstone of composites innovation, and CAMX 2025 reflected the industry’s push toward high-rate manufacturing and collaborative solutions. Hexcel, a longtime leader in the sector, doubled down on partnerships with companies like A&P Technology , Hawthorn Composites , Fiber Dynamics and HyPerComp Engineering Inc., and with organizations like Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Imad Atallah, vice president of carbon fibers, matrix and reinforcements for Hexcel, emphasized the need for rapid production systems. “We want to be more intentional about collaboration,” Atallah said. “Why not collaborate with people who are innovating and accelerate?”

Hexcel’s advancements, such as IM11 high-tensile strength carbon fiber for pressure vessels with HyPerComp, as well as its cooperation with its partners and the AFRL to produce net-shape preforms for mass aircraft solutions, signal a future where speed and domestic manufacturing — aligned with U.S. policy initiatives — drive aerospace, space and defense applications.

Type 4 COPV highlighted at Hexcel’s booth at CAMX 2025. 

Meanwhile, Syensqo unveiled a breakthrough resin infusion technology qualified by the National Center for Advanced Technologies (NCAT). Marc Doyle, executive vice president for composite materials, highlighted the solution’s forgiving processing window, which enables the production of thick, complex components without exothermic risks. Targeting air mobility, defense and high-performance racing, this innovation democratizes access for smaller manufacturers by providing critical material specs without costly independent testing.

Yet, challenges loom. High material costs, even with reduced manufacturing complexity, remain a hurdle, as does the need to scale these technologies for commercial aerospace. The push for high-rate production also raises questions about quality control and long-term reliability in demanding applications. As aerospace continues to prioritize weight savings and assembly efficiency, the industry must navigate these trade-offs to fully capitalize on these innovations.

Filament-wound conduit enables low pull-through friction for long cable runs, supporting critical infrastructure.

In critical infrastructure, composites are carving out a vital role in addressing aging systems and modern demands. Westlake Corp. composites segment leader, Amitabh Bansal outlined a solutions-driven approach, focusing on lightweight materials for power transmission, data centers and infrastructure installation. Innovations like lightweight façade panels, GFRP rebars, conduits for critical infrastructure and composite piping for water and wastewater systems illustrate how composites can streamline installation and address structural burdens and longevity issues. “We don’t want just to sell a resin or a material,” Bansal stressed. “We want to bring the whole solution to the customer and solve a real problem.”

The opportunities in the infrastructure sector are immense, especially as global infrastructure needs escalate amid urbanization and climate challenges. Composites offer corrosion resistance and reduced maintenance compared to traditional materials like steel and concrete, aligning with sustainability goals. However, adoption faces significant barriers. High upfront costs, regulatory hurdles and a lack of widespread awareness among civil engineers and policymakers slow integration. Additionally, scaling production to meet infrastructure’s vast demands while maintaining cost-competitiveness remains a persistent challenge. Bridging the gap between innovation and implementation requires education, advocacy and strategic partnership.

Woven through the advancements in aerospace and infrastructure at CAMX 2025 was a broader theme of resilience. In a keynote address, futurist Sheryl Connelly challenged the composites community to prepare for uncertainty rather than predict — a sentiment that resonated deeply with an industry navigating supply chain disruptions, geopolitical shifts and sustainability mandates. Composites are uniquely positioned to address these global challenges, whether through lightweight, high-performance materials for next-gen aircraft or durable, eco-friendly solutions for critical infrastructure. Yet the path forward demands collaboration and a problem-solving mindset. CAMX 2025 wasn’t just a showcase of technology; it was a reminder of the human potential behind composites.

Drone arm. Source | Uplift360 

Cleantech startup Uplift360 (Luxembourg and Bristol, U.K.) and aerospace company Leonardo (Rome, Italy) have successfully transformed an end-of-life (EOL) helicopter rotor blade into a prototype drone arm, proving the performance and potential of chemically recycled aerospace-grade composites.

Using its proprietary, low-temperature chemical recycling process, ChemR, Uplift360 extracted high-quality, reusable carbon fiber from a rotor blade taken from an EH101 three-engine helicopter, the forerunner of the AW101. Once destined for incineration or landfill, the reclaimed fibers were repurposed into a structural component.

“This project with Leonardo shows how ChemR can turn what was once unrecyclable into mission-ready material — supporting a more resilient and sovereign defense supply chain,” notes Sam Staincliffe, co-founder and CEO of Uplift360.

The project began under an R&D contract with Leonardo in May 2025 and focused on testing ChemR’s ability to process complex composite waste. Uplift360 exceeded the brief — not only recovering the material but also validating its use in manufacturing. The collaboration directly supports the U.K.’s Strategic Defence Review focus on strengthening supply chain resilience.

Clive Higgins, U.K. chair and CEO of Leonardo, adds that material recirculation is a key component of the Leonardo Sustainability Plan. “Collaborating with innovators such as Uplift360, we can demonstrate how sustainability not only creates positive environmental and social impacts but delivers business and economic benefits.”

Source | Valence/Getty Images

Valence Surface Technologies LLC (El Segundo, California) has announced the acquisition of Foresight Finishing (Tempe, Arizona). Under difficult-to-obtain approvals, Foresight provides precious metal surface treatment to prominent manufacturers within the North American defense and commercial aerospace supply chain.

Founded and operated by Casey and Joe Weizel since 2010, Foresight has built a strong reputation for delivering complex, high-quality metal finishing services to mission-critical defense and commercial aerospace electronics. The company’s core capabilities include very tight-tolerance precious metal gold, silver, nickel, tin and palladium plating using vibratory, rack, selective and barrel application technologies. The company employs approximately 110 team members and operates out of a single facility in Tempe, with capacity for future growth and expansion.

David Camilleri, chairman of Valence, notes that this acquisition is the company’s second in just three months (read “Valence Surface Technologies Acquisition Enhances Aerospace Surface Treatment Capabilities”) and improves its position as a provider of complex surface treatment to the aerospace and defense supply chain. Camilleri highlights Foresight’s long-standing customer relationships, industry-leading quality and lead times, as well as its proximity to customers, as a strategic fit within Valence. This move provides a new regional presence in the aerospace and defense electronics segment of Valence’s business.

Casey Weizel and the existing management team and workforce will remain with the organization as part of the transaction. Alfredo Graff, current operations manager at Foresight, will advance to the role of general manager of the operation. Weizel says that the partnership with Valence will support Foresight’s continued growth and development, aligning with the company’s commitment to stakeholders, including customers and employees.

Valence is majority-owned by ATL Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corp., which invested in the company in June 2019 to accelerate strategic initiatives and support continued expansion. Foresight represents the 12^th add-on acquisition for Valence since inception, and the company plans to pursue additional merger and acquisition opportunities in North America and Europe.

KAL Capital Markets LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor, and Polsinelli served as legal counsel to Foresight Finishing. Goodwin served as legal counsel to Valence.

Source | Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

On Oct. 28, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (Palmdale, Calif., U.S.), in partnership with NASA (Washington, D.C., U.S.), successfully completed the first flight of the composites-intensive X-59 supersonic aircraft. 

The X-59 took off from Skunk Works’ facility at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, before landing near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The X-59 performed exactly as planned, verifying initial flying qualities and air data performance on the way to a safe landing at its new home.

The X-59 is designed to demonstrate the ability to fly at supersonic speeds while reducing the sonic boom to a gentle thump. In doing so, the X-59 aims to overcome one of the primary barriers to supersonic commercial flight, which is currently restricted over land due to noise concerns. The aircraft’s successful development and flight testing will inform the establishment of new data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land, paving the way for a new generation of supersonic aircraft that can efficiently and sustainably transport passengers and cargo twice as fast as aircraft today. 

Skunk Works will continue to lead the aircraft’s initial flight test campaign, working closely with NASA to expand the X-59’s flight envelope over the coming months. Part of this test journey will include the X-59’s first supersonic flights, where the aircraft will achieve the optimal speed and altitude for a quiet boom. This will enable NASA to operate the X-59 to measure its sound signature and conduct community acceptance testing. 

Source | ZeroAvia, Hybrid Air Vehicles

ZeroAvia (Hollister, Calif., U.S. and Kemble, U.K.) and Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV, Bedford, U.K.) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to partner on the development of a hydrogen-electric variant of HAV’s Airlander 10.

Airlander 10 is a hybrid aircraft that uses a combination of aerostatic lift, aerodynamic lift and vectored thrust, with a 10-ton payload and 4,000 nautical mile maximum range. The initial Airlander 10 will be powered by four diesel engines, providing an emissions reduction of up to 90% when compared with comparable capacity aircraft. Integrating ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric propulsion will deliver full zero-emission in-flight operations carrying 100+ passengers, as well as reduced maintenance costs.

ZeroAvia reports that its first generation 600-kilowatt hydrogen-electric powertrain, ZA600, has already passed several regulatory milestones, secured hundreds of pre-orders and signed up launch customer airlines who are working to embed the system into more traditional fixed-wing aircraft for lower cost and more environmentally friendly flight. The company has conducted flight testing of a prototype on board a 19-seat aircraft.

HAV says that Airlander 10 has ample space for hydrogen storage in its hull, making it an ideal option for adopting the first generation of certified hydrogen technologies that are already close to market entry — such as hydrogen storage, low-temperature PEM fuel cell power generation and electric propulsion systems that are well advanced toward certification. This partnership will build on HAV’s earlier R&D work to explore electric propulsion for Airlander.

As part of the agreement, the companies will also study the potential applicability of ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric technology to future larger aircraft developed by HAV, and assess planned Airlander 10 operations to define the hydrogen fuel infrastructure requirements.

“ZeroAvia has led the development of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems and made impressive progress commercially, technically and with regulators,” says Tom Grundy, CEO of HAV. “Our intention has always been to offer our customers a fully zero-emission variant of the Airlander, for efficiency and environmental reasons, and this partnership with ZeroAvia will help us in this direction.” 

“Airlander is another exciting airframe for line-fit of our powertrains as it can open up a whole new market in air travel due to its range, efficiency and ability to operate from almost anywhere,” says Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. “Like ZeroAvia, HAV is an aerospace innovator with exciting manufacturing and growth plans for the U.K. that can deliver hundreds of well-paid jobs in different regions in the U.K. These are two businesses expanding U.K. footprints and manufacturing plans, with a broad array of strong use cases, including in the defense arena.”

ZeroAvia’s ZA600 hydrogen-electric engine. Source | ZeroAvia

On Nov. 6, ZeroAvia (Kemble, U.K. and Everett, Wash., U.S.) announced that its application to the Innovation Fund for a €21.4 million grant to support the introduction of hydrogen-electric aircraft has been selected for grant agreement preparation. The project will support the retrofit of 15 Cessna Caravan aircraft with ZeroAvia’s ZA600 hydrogen-electric engines and the establishment of the supporting airport hydrogen fuel technologies, with operations planned to commence in 2028. 

These zero-emission aircraft are planned to replace conventional kerosene-fueled turboprops on cargo routes and expected to see in excess of 95% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project will also work to deliver hydrogen refueling and storage ​infrastructure at 15 airports in Norway, establishing what ZeroAvia says will be the world’s largest network of zero-emission commercial flights. The air operators for the network will be announced in due course.

The Operations to Decarbonize Interconnectivity in Norway (ODIN) project aims to validate the technical performance and economic case for utilizing hydrogen-electric aircraft in commercial operations, with a view to catalyzing further adoption in Norway, across the European Union (EU) and further afield.  

The project proposal was found to contribute to the objectives of the EU initiative “Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)” and meets the requirements to receive the STEP Seal. The STEP Seal is a quality label awarded by the European Commission dedicated to boosting investment in critical technologies in Europe. ​ 

ZeroAvia’s ZA600 powertrain — the company see the future for composites in this application — uses fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen fuel without reliance on combustion, meaning that the only emission is low-temperature water vapor. ZeroAvia has already flight tested a prototype of this system, is now ground testing its final design for certification and is concurrently working with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on certification programs related to the engine.  

“The EU Innovation Fund is notoriously competitive with applications needing to pass through rigorous assessment and demonstrate compelling evidence for near-term GHG reductions,” notes Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. “This project will set an example by introducing a scaled network of hydrogen-electric aircraft operations across Norway without the typical associated environmental damage.” 

The Innovation Fund, financed by EU Emissions Trading System revenues, is one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. The Fund focuses on highly innovative clean technologies and big flagship projects with European added value that can bring significant emission and GHG reductions.