INNOVATION

A NECESSITY and lever FOR GROWTH

From new materials and power electronics to connectivity, optics and energy storage systems, Zodiac Aerospace focuses on innovation to design and produce more efficient systems that respond more closely to customer requirements and pave the way for tomorrow's technologies and aircraft This approach is enriched by collaboration with customers (aircraft manufacturers and airlines), as well as partnerships with universities and industry in Europe and the United States.

Customer-focused innovation

Our aim is to provide customers not only with the technologies they need now, but also those they are going to need in ten or twenty years’ time, bearing in mind that passengers, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have different concerns.

Passengers are concerned about comfort, hence our work on lighting, ergonomics and connectivity to upgrade our onboard products with the new functionalities used by consumers.

For airlines, three challenges have to be addressed in terms of innovation. First, optimizing the number of passengers in a smaller space without increasing the aircraft's weight. We are focusing on lighter materials: composites, thermoplastics, aluminum-lithium and magnesium alloy The second challenge is to optimize comfort and develop new functionalities for passengers. We are concentrating our research on the seats of the future, which for example, will adapt to the morphology (body shape) of their occupants, and on connectivity Thirdly, airlines want equipment that is increasingly reliable and easier to maintain, which means developing connectivity, particularly systems for real-time information about the state of the equipment (health monitoring) to anticipate breakdowns.

Aircraft manufacturers, in addition to challenges related to equipment weight and reliability, are concerned about alternatives to fossil fuels, hence the “more electric aircraft” project. In this area, we are conducting tests with the CEA⁶ on our fuel cell demonstrator for aeronautical application and, with support from the DGAC⁷, we will be defining the logistics necessary for the deployment of a fuel cell in an airport or on board an aircraft. We are also working on high-energy batteries and our success in this area has led to a contract to supply Airbus Group Innovation with the storage and power-distribution chain for its electric-twin-engine E-Fan aircraft, which made its inaugural test flight in March. To support our developments, we also acquired the MTA⁸ laboratory in Poitiers which specializes in testing battery power.

Zodiac Scientific & Technical Council (ZSTC)

In addition to Techno-days, primarily dedicated to mechanical, electronic and thermal simulation, ZSTC has held its first Engineering seminar This was an opportunity to facilitate sharing of best practices within a standardized development framework. A brochure describing these missions has also been circulated throughout the Group and to its suppliers.

⁶ The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission

⁷ The French Civil Aviation Authority

⁸ Advanced transport and mobility

20 | TRAVEL JOURNAL 2013/2014