CATEC participated in the closing ceremony of the AFA-3e innovation project (Application of Additive Manufacturing to improve the efficiency of electrically powered air taxis), a project subsidised by the CDTI through the PTA PYMES 2023 programme, whose main objective was to improve the energy efficiency of a zero-emission electric air taxi (eVTOL) by researching the implementation of additive manufacturing of components for primary structures, secondary structures and interior components.
The project was led by the company Egile Mechanics and involved other companies such as Adática Engineering, Canagrosa and GAHA-ARANDA, with whom CATEC collaborated in the development of various tasks, contributing its extensive experience and knowledge in the field of additive manufacturing. Specifically, our technology centre has been responsible for the manufacture, testing and validation of various metal and polymer components for parts of the Lilium Jet used in the project.
This research into new comprehensive solutions for additive manufacturing for an electric air taxi has also aimed to improve the capabilities of Spanish industry in order to meet the technological challenges associated with the development of technologies for reducing emissions from air traffic and achieving more sustainable aviation.
The final day of this project was held at the Egile Mechanics facilities in Mendaro (Basque Country), with the participation of our colleague Mario Escudero Rodríguez, from CATEC’s Additive Manufacturing Unit, together with other representatives from the companies collaborating in AFA-3e.
The conference served to bring the initiative’s three years of work to a close, present some of the technological demonstrators developed and highlight the success of this collaboration, which has led to a remarkable innovation in the use of materials and techniques for this type of vehicle, both in manufacturing and in new post-processes. It has thus been demonstrated that it is possible to reduce the weight of components for this type of aircraft by between 40% and 60%, thanks on the one hand to the study of new components and fabrics, and on the other to the study of new optimised manufacturing architectures with a high degree of integration, where the use of additive manufacturing has been key.
