Paris Air Show 2023: The role of aluminium in emission reduction strategies
There’s more to sustainability in the aerospace industry than just changing the type of fuel used for flight, as Miguel Pinedo, Director, Marketing and Strategy, Aerospace at Constellium, explained…
There’s more to sustainability in the aerospace industry than just changing the type of fuel used for flight, as Miguel Pinedo, Director, Marketing and Strategy, Aerospace at Constellium, explained during the Paris Air Show.
Emission reduction
He told FINN, “We produce aluminium which ends up in commercial aviation and also in defence, and we have our own roadmap towards more sustainable aviation. We are doing that in many ways. First of all, aluminium is infinitely recyclable, which means we can use the same material over and over on different products. Not only this but we are also producing aluminium from recyclable sources, which takes only 5% of the energy that it takes to do this from primary aluminium, so it should be a great source of emission reduction.”
Aside from aluminium, which will continue play a major role in aviation, the company is exploring the use of composites and alloys that will be serious contenders for the aircraft of the future.
Circular economy
Constellium has signed an agreement with Tarmac Aerosave, which recycles aircraft and engines, in a bid to boost circularity. “In the end of life of the aircraft, there was a missing link,” Pinedo explained “Not that the aircraft are not being recycled now – you can take all the aluminium out – but it was being used in different industries. What we wanted to do, and you see this in all the European regulations, is the concept of circularity – the aluminium should stay in the industry, that is where we see the value. All the aluminium is very valuable, so we want it to stay in the industry and for our customers to receive their CO2 credits, etc that would reduce the emissions that go into the new products and aircraft.”
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