Boosting reuse of titanium and aluminum materials for a more sustainable future
In a groundbreaking move towards sustainable aerospace manufacturing, Airbus is leading the charge in closed-loop recycling of aerospace-grade titanium and aluminium. This initiative, which combines advanced recycling technologies, strategic partnerships, and industry collaboration, is focused on traceability and reuse.
For titanium, Airbus collaborates with EcoTitanium, a European venture that offers recycled aerospace-grade titanium. EcoTitanium's process, using plasma inert gas melting combined with vacuum autoclave remelting, produces ingots with up to 75% recycled content and very low impurity levels, allowing for the direct reuse of titanium scrap from Airbus production in aircraft structural components. This method uses about four times less energy compared to traditional titanium sponge production, significantly reducing carbon emissions.
In the case of aluminium, Airbus has partnered with key producers Constellium and Novelis to establish a closed-loop recycling system. This system involves multiple stages: external machinists produce the scrap, scrap dealers handle collection with traceability assurance, and melters recycle the material back into aerospace-grade alloys. Five Airbus sites are piloting this traceability and recycled content measurement process, aiming by the end of 2026 to include all aluminium from Airbus sites in the closed loop.
Key elements of Airbus’s closed-loop approach include the use of high-purity recycling processes for titanium that meet aerospace standards, partnerships with suppliers and recyclers to improve scrap traceability and expand recycling capacity, inclusion of secondary materials from both manufacturing scrap and end-of-life aircraft structures, and industry alignment on recycling standards and material handling to ensure consistent quality and supply chain transparency.
Airbus is also focusing on advancing materials circularity within the aerospace value chain, specifically for titanium and aluminium. The company is using additive layer manufacturing (ALM) to produce aircraft parts from these metals with minimal waste. For instance, ALM is used to create the 32 door latch shafts needed for each A350 aircraft, resulting in a weight savings of just over four kilograms per aircraft.
Moreover, Airbus is recycling titanium production floor scraps, with EcoTitanium recycling scraps gathered from engine pylon production at Airbus' Saint-Eloi factory in Toulouse, France since 2024. The company is also using directed-energy deposition (DED) and powder bed fusion (PBF), forms of ALM, to create large and regularly shaped parts by using a laser to melt a titanium wire and then deposit it in place, and to construct parts as thin as 0.1mm on top of each other, respectively.
Airbus is not only focusing on the production phase but also on the end-of-life of aircraft. VAS Aero Services, a subsidiary of an Airbus-owned company called Satair, offers an end-of-life dismantling program for aircraft parts. They can recover anywhere from 300 to 6,000 parts for resale from decommissioned aircraft.
This strategy significantly increases circularity for both metals within aerospace manufacturing, supporting Airbus’s sustainability and carbon reduction targets. For example, recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy required for primary production and emits 95% fewer CO2 emissions compared to primary production.
In July 2023, the first two DED-manufactured parts were installed on an A350, marking a significant step forward in Airbus's mission to create a more sustainable aerospace industry. The company is also making strides in recycling aircraft fuselages into new aerospace alloys, with Tarmac Aerosave, a company jointly owned by Airbus, Safran, and Suez, partnering with Constellium to recycle fuselages into new aluminium alloys that meet aerospace manufacturing specifications.
References:
- Airbus
- Airbus
- EcoTitanium
- Constellium
- Novelis
- VAS Aero Services
- Tarmac Aerosave
- Satair
- Airbus, in partnership with EcoTitanium, employs advanced recycling technologies to create aerospace-grade titanium from scrap, reducing carbon emissions by using about four times less energy compared to traditional titanium sponge production.
- For aluminium, Airbus collaborates with Constellium and Novelis to establish a closed-loop recycling system, aiming to include all aluminium from Airbus sites in the loop by the end of 2026, a move that uses only 5% of the energy required for primary production and emits 95% fewer CO2 emissions compared to primary production.
