FIDAMC hosts Aerospace Thermoplastics International Summit in Madrid

Source | FIDAMC

Sustainability and production rate were the two main themes that emerged from the Aerospace International Thermoplastics Summit hosted by FIDAMC (Foundation for Research, Development and Application of Composite Materials) in Madrid, Spain on Oct. 30, 2025. The meeting also discussed planning by FIDAMC and its partners for the Thermoplastic Composites Development Centre being constructed in Cadiz, Spain.

The 1-day summit, conceived as a space for strategic and technical exchange, attracted more than 100 participants, mainly from Europe. It was opened by Ernesto González Durán, CEO of FIDAMC, who stressed that “we are living in times of profound transformation in the aviation sector.” This was followed by a keynote presentation from Ricardo Rojas, president of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus Spain, and six panel discussions on specific topics (see below).

Airbus Spain sees need for new TPC

Riojas highlighted the strength of the aeronautical sector and Spain’s key role in its growth. “Airbus anticipates the need for more than 43,000 aircraft in the next 20 years,” he said, “which will require increased production and addressing challenges in the supply chain, talent and innovation.” Riojas then highlighted the importance of investment in R&D, digitalization and new thermoplastic composite (TPC) materials. He also acknowledged FIDAMC’s role as a “bridge between research and industry” for developing the technologies that will shape the next decade.

Round table 1 – Aerospace strategy and funding

This panel included Juan Francisco Reyes (CDTI – Horizon Europe NCP), José Javier Martín Cañizares (regional government of Andalusia), Jaume Marcos (president of PAE) and Héctor Guerrero (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities – PERTE Aerospace).

They agreed that aerospace is undergoing global expansion, driven by the need for technological sovereignty and sustainability. Spain is supporting technology developments through various initiatives:

• National: PERTE Aerospace’s investment of more than €2.8 billion and the future Alliance for Spanish Aerospace, aimed at strengthening public-private collaboration.
• Regional: Andalusia Aerospace Strategy’s investment of €574 million until 2027 and creation of the Net Zero Jerez Aeronautical Hub for sustainable aviation in Jerez.
• Europe: Clean Aviation and CESAR programs.

Round table 2 – Future challenges for OEMs

This panel discussed the main market drivers and included Susana Carballo (Airbus), Carlos Bello (Boeing) and José Francisco Beltrán París (ITP Aero). The speakers highlighted sustainability and production rate as the two main needs to support the large quantity of composites-intensive commercial that will be required. The OEMs saw that TPC addressed these needs through recyclability, and increased production rates, via stamping, in situ consolidation and welded assembly. Defense and space applications also had to consider cybersecurity and cost reduction in space systems.

Round table 3 – Challenges to industrialize thermoplastic composites

This was led by experts from Tier 1 fabricators: Enrique Sánchez (Aernnova Composites), Raúl Arranz (Aciturri) and Salvador Romero (GKN Fokker). They agreed that TPC offer advantages in repairability, recyclability and weight reduction, but still require investment in equipment and training to achieve the necessary production scale. Areas with high potential benefit, but which still need to be matured, include automated fiber placement (AFP), welding and variable-thickness parts.

The discussion highlighted the challenge that fabricators will only make investments to industrialize these technologies if OEMs make commitments to use TPC, but these commitments will only happen if production readiness is demonstrated. Collaboration between manufacturers, technology centers and OEMs is needed to accelerate industrial adoption.

Round table 4 – Innovation in equipment

The discussion included Iñigo Idareta (Mtorres), André Bertin (Coexpair Dynamics), Maarten Bach (KVE), Mael Farinas (Coriolis) and Marcus Kremers (Airborne), and was moderated by Félix Domínguez (FIDAMC) — all companies focused on providing solutions for high-rate, automated and consistent manufacture.

They agreed advances in automation, digitalization and in situ consolidation are transforming TPC parts production, but also stressed the need for more robust, modular and efficient equipment capable of matching the speeds of thermoset processes. Collaboration between equipment developers, OEMs and certification authorities is needed, as well as definition of process standards to enable more agile certification, including transition from approving specific parts to approving processes for more rapid adoption of the manufacturing methods.

Round table 5 – Innovation in materials

Nathalie Schmitz (Hexcel), Mark Bouwman (Toray) and Johannes Treiber (Syensqo) represented material suppliers and cited standardization as a key area, noting the industry will benefit from economies of scale as TPC use increases. They highlighted the potential for recyclability, improved durability and reduction of overall production costs, noting the role of technology centers as agents of knowledge transfer between research and industry. They also advocated greater harmonization of certifications and processes in Europe in order to accelerate industrial adoption.

Round table 6 – Global research ecosystem

The final session featured David Leach (Composite Material Solutions), Rens Pierik (TPRC) and Isabel Martín (FIDAMC), who agreed that collaborative development centers can provide benefits of sharing production scale equipment, reducing risk and enabling a wider range of organizations in the supply chain to participate. They also discussed the need to align European technology agendas and promote closer cooperation between centers of excellence to share infrastructure, data and methodologies. The next decade will be decisive for consolidating an international yet coordinated TPC ecosystem

TPC parts are reality, progress via community

In his concluding comments, FIDAMC CEO Durán said that TPC parts are no longer a promise, “they are a reality in motion,” emphasizing they are lighter, more efficient and more sustainable. The hub in Cadiz, he noted, will move TPC development from TRL 3 to 6, and will not duplicate efforts but rather complement existing capabilities in Europe and around the world. 

“Progress is not measured by the speed of technology, but by the strength of the community behind it,” he concluded, reiterating this is the best way to address the exponential change that can be achieved for TPC and future aviation.