Advanced Lightweight multifunctional structures - ALICE

Purpose and goal

The ALICE project is about the development, manufacturing and validation of three complex multifunctional engine structure demonstrators for the next generation medium-sized aircrafts by Airbus and Boeing with product development starting at the end of the decade. The demonstrators that will be developed in collaboration between GKN Aerospace and Swedish SMEs are optimized lightweight designs including new manufacturing technology, in the form of additive manufacturing and composite materials.

Expected effects and result

The project will strengthen the competitiveness of GKN and the Swedish partners to get a role in the engine development project towards products and thereby create new business opportunities. The project will help to accelerate the introduction of new technologies in the next generation of engines to make them more sustainable and to strengthen the GKN supply chain to become more resilient.

Planned approach and implementation

The project is carried out in collaboration between GKN Aerospace Sweden, Swedish SMEs, and research institutes. As the project involves the development of three different lightweight demonstrators, the work will be organized into three separate sub-projects, each focusing on technology maturity, design optimization, manufacturing, and verification. Each sub-project is driven toward specific technical goals and future applications.