The pAIramid project was launched on 1 December 2024, marking the start of a four-year effort to revolutionise the certification of composite aerostructures in aviation. Just a few days later, on 11–12 December 2024, project partners gathered in Mondragon, Spain for the Kick-off consortium meeting officially starting the project activities.
Titled “AI-based testing pyramid towards virtual certification of next-gen composite aerostructures”, the project tackles one of the aerospace sector’s most persistent bottlenecks: the costly, time-consuming, and rigid certification process. Traditionally built on a sequential pyramid of physical tests – from material to full aerostructure – certification has often slowed innovation and hindered the adoption of advanced materials and designs.
pAIramid proposes a game-changing shift: replacing the current physical-heavy approach with an AI-powered, interconnected digital certification framework. By integrating data-driven simulations across all levels of the pyramid, the project aims to accelerate certification, reduce testing costs, and enhance adaptability, all while upholding strict safety and performance standards.
The project will demonstrate its innovative framework through four industrial use cases: a vertical stabiliser box fairing, an aircraft door, and two wing leading edge components manufactured with thermoplastic and thermoset composites. These components will not only prove the validity of the approach but also drive forward the development of sustainable, functionalised materials and advanced manufacturing techniques such as Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). Each demonstrator will reach Technology Readiness Level 4 by project end, indicating readiness for further industrial scaling.
Led by IKERLAN S. Coop (Spain), pAIramid brings together 13 partners from seven countries. The consortium includes experts in composite materials and manufacturing processes – Institut de Recherche Technologique Jules Verne (France), Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial (Portugal), Fundación GAIKER (Spain), MECA S.A.R.L. (France), Brunel Composites Centre (BCC) – Brunel university London (United Kingdom) and AMADE – Universitat de Girona (Spain), specialists in digital tools and integration – IKERLAN S. Coop (Spain) and LKS S. Coop (Spain), and aerostructure manufacturers – Turkish Aerospace (Turkey), POTEZ Aéronautique (France), RTX’s Collins Aerospace (Netherlands), and SOFITEC Aero S.L. (Spain). Finally, Zabala Innovation Brussels (Belgium) leads the dissemination, communication, and exploitation activities, ensuring the project’s outreach and impact across key stakeholders.
The challenge is clear: to meet Europe’s 2050 climate-neutral aviation goals, the industry must adopt more efficient, flexible, and sustainable certification processes. pAIramid addresses this need head-on, enabling faster integration of lightweight materials and greener manufacturing methods. With its AI-driven decision-making tools and focus on sustainability, the project is poised to set a new benchmark for aircraft development in Europe and beyond.
Get in touch with pAIramid for any questions, project updates or to discuss potential collaborations.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101192736.
