The United Kingdom’s GKN Aerospace is working on a technology hub to meet the country’s carbon emission cut goals for the aviation industry.
The company, which develops, builds and supplies advanced aerospace systems, components and sustainable technologies, building a £32 million technology centre on the outskirts of Bristol.
The GKN Aerospace engineers are experimenting with new types of materials to make wings and other aircraft structures. The project will be the backbone of one of three new prototypes for Airbus’ Wing of Tomorrow programme.
Funded by the British government, the technology centre’s primary focus is on decarbonising the industry. It will also help the UK retain its leading role in wing technology. Some other sectors, like automotive, have already taken significant steps towards net zero emission goals.
The purpose of manufacturing lighter and stronger wing structures, using sustainable aviation fuels, battery power and hydrogen, is to help the industry cut its emissions.
Melrose’s chief operating officer Peter Dilnot has called a groundbreaking technology for the future of flight to make aircraft more sustainable, saying that the centre will definitely maintain the UK’s leadership in wing technology.
He said that the work on Airbus’s Wing of Tomorrow programme is partially funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which allocates state funding for innovation in the sector. Dilnot hoped that the civil aviation industry as a whole to get back to 80 percent to 90 percent of 2019 levels by 2024.
At the technology centre, GKN and more than 20 of its partners are working on a number of different projects, including a hydrogen propulsion system for small aircraft and wings for an all-electric plane.
GKN Aerospace’s senior vice-president Chris Everett said new processes have enabled the company to cut waste by 25 percent and reduce energy consumption by 80 percent compared with traditional composite manufacturing today.
Interestingly, the three prototypes that GKN is building for the Wing of Tomorrow programme are single pieces, rather than a number of sections put together. Each piece is made up of more than 30 layers of composite.
The Bristol centre represents the future for GKN’s aerospace business, the immediate focus for the company is on improving the core business as the aviation industry recovers from the pandemic.