Mon, 07 November, 2022
We are ready to use our expertise to help companies develop the next generation of eVTOL personal aircraft.
eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft are a new variety of VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft that use electric power to take off, hover, and land vertically.
The technology has been made possible by advances in electric propulsion systems (including batteries, controllers and fuel cells), much of which was originally developed for the automotive EV (electric vehicle) sector.
As a growing need emerges for urban air mobility, such as with air taxis, a number of high-profile companies are exploring this avenue for development, and TWI is ready to use our expertise to assist with manufacturing, materials, and other challenges.
TWI has gained extensive experience in the development of battery connections for electric vehicles as well as assembly techniques, joining methods and automation through projects including the UK Research and Innovation-funded SCIENZE (Supply Chain Innovation Engineering for Net Zero) project.
Our knowledge of specialist joining techniques, such as electron beam welding, vacuum furnace brazing, friction stir welding, laser welding and resistance spot welding have been implemented for automotive production and have shown to have ready application for aerospace technologies too.
As well as advising on the best joining techniques for manufacture, our experts have been working on the light-weighting of bulk materials through our knowledge of plastics and composites, including high volume composite to metal joining and joining carbon reinforced plastics.
While plastics, polymers and composites are part of the future of aerospace materials, including for eVTOL, aluminium remains an important material for light-weighting. Our understanding of the porosity and material properties of aluminium alloys has already proven beneficial to the automotive industry, including the joining of steel to aluminium, and this expertise is finding applications for eVTOL aircraft too.
Our capabilities range from product and process development to technology acquisition and engineering consultancy services through to manufacturing and production support.
Contact us using the email address below to see how we can solve your manufacturing and materials challenges and help progress the next generation of aerospace technologies.