Norsk Titanium has signed a new Cooperation & Research Agreement (CRA) with Airbus, with the Lower Frame Fitting for the Airbus A350 being additively manufactured at Norsk's Plattsburgh Production Facility.
The part first flew on an A350 earlier this year, with the partners describing the expansion of their partnership as 'another milestone in the industrialisation and qualification of Rapid Plasma Deposition technology for high-criticality structural titanium parts.'
As the two companies take this next step in their collaboration, they are beginning to focus more on industrialisation and qualification. The Lower Frame Fitting is said to be the largest and highest-classification additively manufactured component certified by EASA and FAA for an aerostructure in commercial aerospace.
Under the CRA, Norsk Titanium and Airbus will jointly mature the RPD technology for additional applications involving fatigue-critical structural elements. They will focus on the technical qualification of titanium wire, industrial process validation, and the standardisation of these innovations in accordance with Airbus specifications.
As they do this, Norsk Titanium will interface with the Airbus DED project team to ensure coordination across engineering, airworthiness, and operational implementation at the Saint Eloi and Varel plants. The agreement will also establish a framework for standardising materials and manufacturing processes for long-term production use across Airbus’ aircraft programs, and integrate RPD into the core of Airbus' material, process and industrial standards.
“Together with the recent FAA certification of the Lower Frame Fitting for the Airbus A350, this represents an additional endorsement of our RPD technology and another step toward expanding the adoption across commercial aircraft programs,” said Fabrizio Ponte, CEO of Norsk Titanium.
The collaboration is structured around four key work packages, including technology scaling, material and process qualification, and material expansion behind titanium.
This new agreement complements the Master Supply Agreement signed with Airbus Aerostructures in 2024 to support A350 production and the collaboration with Airbus’ facility in Varel, Germany, to jointly develop and document the directed energy deposition (DED) process for Norsk Titanium’s RPD technology.
“Industrialisation takes time, but the direction of travel is clear. Working together with Airbus, we are building the foundation for RPD to serve the industry at scale and to deliver the cost, lead-time and material savings that the aerospace industry requires,” added Ponte.
Earlier this year, Norsk announced that Airbus was to install a Norsk Titanium Merke IV RPD machine at its production facility in Varel, Germany. The aim of this collaboration is to jointly evaluate the RPD manufacturing processes, controls, and validation data to support the transition from part-specific qualification to broader process-based methodologies for specific titanium products.
