Tech-center and innovation

The HAICoPAS project (Highly Automatized Integrated Composites for Performing Adaptable Structures) is an ambitious project which aims to revolutionize the manufacture of composite parts by optimizing design and production processes for demanding industries such as aerospace, automotive and gas. It focuses in particular on the development of advanced technologies for strip placement and dynamic welding assembly, enabling large-scale production of lightweight yet robust parts that could replace traditional metallic materials.

Centered around Hexcel and Arkema, the project has produced the first innovative aeronautical structure in thermoplastic composites. This structure was unveiled at JEC 2024, highlighting the use of Hexply® thermoplastic tapes, developed with Arkema’s PEKK Kepstan® resin and Hexcel’s Hextow® carbon fibers.

The Haicopas demonstrator was designed in collaboration with major industrial players such as Airbus, Safran and others, illustrating the effectiveness and relevance of the technologies developed in this project. This partnership also underlines the importance of collaboration between industry and academic institutions in advancing material and technological innovation.

The project is supported by Bpifrance and has been recognized as part of the Future Investment Program, demonstrating its transformative potential for key industrial sectors and its contribution to industrial competitiveness in France.

The partners involved in this collaborative project include, in addition to Hexcel and Arkema, manufacturers and laboratories such as Ingecal, Coriolis Composites, PINETTE PEI, the Institut de Soudure, as well as a consortium of university laboratories led by the CNRS, including the PIMM (CNRS – Arts et Métiers ParisTech – le Cnam) and the LTEN (CNRS – Université de Nantes). These cross-sector collaborations are crucial to success and innovation in the field of advanced composite materials.

The SPECTRA project, focused on static welding of thermoplastic composites for aeronautics, represents a major initiative in the industry to meet production challenges while aiming to lighten aeronautical structures and reduce energy consumption. Launched in January 2021 and concluding in January 2024, this project is led by the IRT Jules Verne in collaboration with renowned partners such as Airbus, Arkema, Hutchinson and Safran.

The main aim of the project is to develop an advanced conduction welding process capable of joining high-performance thermoplastic composites. This innovative project aims to increase production rates while reducing the costs associated with assembling composite structures. It also focuses on the development of numerical modeling tools to optimize assembly processes and the integration of high-performance, compact tooling, with particular attention to the functionalization of frames to improve the welding process.

SPECTRA has demonstrated the effectiveness of this welding in real-life applications, such as welding frames to curved panels, essential for aircraft fuselage structures. This also includes the addition of brackets to the welding frame, an innovation that will significantly transform manufacturing techniques in the aerospace industry.

This project stands out for its collaborative approach, integrating the skills of major industrial groups and SMEs to meet the rigorous requirements of the aeronautics industry, while promoting technological advances that can be applied on a large scale.

Key partners in this project include notable names in the aerospace and advanced materials industries, such as Airbus, Arkema, CERO, Hutchinson, IRT Jules Verne, PINETTE PEI, Safran and STELIA Aerospace. This cross-sector collaboration is essential for the development of innovative solutions that meet the current and future challenges of the aerospace industry.