Main Title
Innovation
Research and Development
Innovation is the key driver of all efforts made by Alcan Global Aerospace to respond to the rapidly changing market needs and the ever growing challenges which our customers are exposed to in the highly competitive aerospace industry.
Our strategy to stay on top of the technical developments and take the lead in the sector is supported by our R&D organization.
The two R&D Centers of Alcan Global Aerospace are based in Voreppe, France, and Neuhausen, Switzerland, employing more than 360 scientists and staff.
Their outstanding capabilities for aerospace include:
- alloy development with state-of-the-art tools such as computer-aided alloy design
- design and joining technology support, development of alternative assembly techniques
- testing and characterization of airframe alloys and panels
- rapid prototyping
- a pilot casthouse where we produce both small ingots for lab trials and industrial-scale ingots and billets for plant processing.
In addition, our design capability and 2500 kN testing rig enable the evaluation of innovative design solutions at a representative scale.
Together with our customers, the R&D teams co-develop advanced solutions tailored to their specific needs. For example, more than 20 new Alcan Global Aerospace alloys were developed and are used in the Airbus A380 and the Boeing B787.
