The aerospace sector is a realm of grand ambitions where the future is constantly being designed, tested and precisely brought to life. Yet, it’s also a landscape grappling with long timelines, complex funding and the ever-present demand for a skilled workforce. 

Mrudula Jadhav sat down with Stephen Beecher, senior sector engagement manager for aerospace at the University of Sheffield AMRC, and Alun Reece, chief executive officer at Loop Technology, to explore the dynamic forces shaping flight, South Yorkshire’s pivotal role in driving manufacturing innovation and the sheer grit required to bring tomorrow’s aircraft onto the runway.

Article featured in the latest issue of the AMRC Journal.

“The unwavering commitment to net zero by 2050 and the UK's ambitious 77 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 means the pressure for greener, more efficient manufacturing is only intensifying,” says Stephen Beecher, who heads up the AMRC’s engagement activity within the aerospace sector.

Delivering on this ambition, says Stephen, demands an outlook stretching far beyond months or even a few years - it requires looking decades ahead. And recent major announcements, such as Airbus' revised roadmap for its ZEROe project with the hydrogen aircraft expected to come later than 2035, only serve to underscore the waiting game that has to be played in aviation.

The mass adoption of hydrogen, while significant, highlights a far greater challenge for the industry in reaching its ambitions to reduce emissions, and that is the long runway between brilliant research being undertaken and taking it into production.

For Alun Reece, whose company Loop Technology specialises in advanced composite manufacturing, this pressure translates into a strategic imperative. "We’ve been working since about 2010 to develop our FibreLINE technology that will address the needs of these global players," he reveals. 

The push for lightweighting and staggering order backlogs – thousands of aircraft for both Boeing and Airbus – calls for nothing less than a revolution in production. 

"Moving from typical production rates of 30 ship sets a month to between 75 and 100 aircraft sets a month requires a fundamental shift away from manual techniques," stresses Stephen.

This means adopting automated solutions, human-assistive systems and smart workbenches, all underpinned by crucial in-process inspection and integrated data connectivity. As Stephen puts it: "You can’t afford to find problems at the end of the line."

The long runway to production

The path from cutting-edge research to full-scale production is littered with obstacles due to what Stephen calls a shifting ‘valley of death’ for technology, referring to the critical gap where proven research technologies struggle to secure funding for industrial-scale maturation. 

He adds: “The ‘valley of death’ for technology is potentially moving to now be at technology readiness level (TRL) seven and beyond, as compared to what used to be at TRL 3 to 6 that the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, which is the national network of research centres the AMRC is a member of, were initially targeted to address.”

Alun couldn't agree more. He said: “The biggest challenge is proving and driving the level of maturity where, when your machine hits the shop floor, they press a button and it spits out the product without any intervention." 

He candidly describes the current landscape as one of unpredictable demand, with companies like Loop Technology engaged in a long R&D phase, as award-winning systems such as FibreLINE wait to transition into production  

Stephen emphasises that while the ambition to build a more advanced aircraft at a significantly higher rate presents a huge opportunity, it critically requires manufacturing systems that are robust and proven – something which Alun notes ‘are not built overnight’.

This challenge is compounded by design philosophies, which Alun explains, means aircraft manufacturers are likely still determining the precise architecture of future airframes. Stephen agrees and says that while design for manufacturing is often discussed, aircraft performance still takes precedence, leading to radical geometries that present greater manufacturing challenges.

How do we bridge the gap?

What is needed, according to Stephen and Alun, is ‘a clearer, more concrete steer on timelines’ to provide more confidence for investment. Stephen believes there is a clear need for government and funding bodies to rethink their approach to supporting aerospace, specifically to bridge this gap at high TRL.

For Stephen, the AMRC stands ready to play a critical role in this shift. He envisions fostering deeper, more inclusive collaboration with industry partners, moving beyond transactional relationships with industry and sharing more information that would generally be withheld due to intellectual property or sensitivity concerns.

He even raises the idea of whether the AMRC should extend its support to more mature TRLs, helping companies bridge that precarious gap into production. 

"Is there a call for more involvement and support when technology moves into production?" Stephen asks, seeing a role for the AMRC in ensuring a right-first-time approach and providing mentorship.

Nurturing the talent pipeline

Beyond the technical and funding hurdles, the aerospace sector grapples with a fundamental human challenge: finding, nurturing and retaining the right talent. 

Stephen notes that part of this challenge stems from a skewed perception of what a career in aerospace actually looks like. 

"Aerospace is sometimes seen as a ‘dirty’ sector," he says , highlighting how this might deter young people from considering it as a career. Adding to this, Alun points to the difficulty in sourcing multi-skilled individuals, particularly electrical designers. 

"However, we're actively countering these challenges and building the workforce of tomorrow through our apprenticeship programmes at the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre," Stephen explains. 

"We’re not just training people in the latest manufacturing techniques; we're instilling a passion for innovation and showing them the exciting, high-tech reality of modern aerospace, while also upskilling the current workforce."

Echoing this proactive spirit, Loop Technology is also involved in engaging students from primary school through robotics programmes. Both Stephen and Alun advocate for a shift in educational culture, making science and engineering more fun and embracing mistakes as part of the learning journey. "Not being scared to make mistakes – that's how you learn," Alun says.

South Yorkshire: Forging the future of manufacturing 

Amidst these significant challenges, Stephen and Alun find a powerful undercurrent of hope, flowing closer to home in South Yorkshire.

For Alun and Loop Technology, a recent industry arrival to the region, the decision to establish a new facility in Sheffield – strategically located next door to the AMRC – was ‘unequivocally the right one’."Here, we have a good pool of talent to pick from," he explains, praising the region's strong talent ecosystem and the pipeline coming through from its two universities.

Loop Technology is now building and testing its automation systems at its new Sheffield facility for AMRC’s Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) programme, some of which will ultimately go into the new nearby COMPASS facility. "We've got five robots over there that will form part of the state-of-the-art equipment at the COMPASS facility," adds Alun.

Alun speaks with genuine admiration for the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard whose ‘dynamism and enthusiasm for manufacturing and the region is contagious’. This welcoming environment, coupled with the Advanced Manufacturing Park’s growth – home to many other global players, including Boeing and Rolls Royce – has created a ‘critical mass’ of expertise.

"There’s a kind of an energy," Stephen says, highlighting the unique cultural appreciation for manufacturing in South Yorkshire: “It's almost seen as a catalyst for the region's renewal, carrying the legacy of its industrial past into an innovative future”.

He concludes: "The AMRC is a national asset for manufacturing; and what we've got here in South Yorkshire, with the AMRC right at the centre, it's not just good for local businesses. This regional cluster truly puts the UK in a strong position for aerospace, providing the vital testbed and talent pipeline the whole nation needs to hit those net zero targets."

Looking ahead – what is next?

Both Stephen and Alun are deeply excited about what the next five to ten years may hold.

Stephen shares this anticipation, particularly for the outcomes of Boeing’s Isothermic High-Rate Sustainable Structures – the first project to utilise the AMRC’s open-access COMPASS facility. He envisions a ‘strong consortium of technologically advanced companies’ making significant advancements supported by the AMRC. The ultimate goal, he hopes, is to see these innovations in production before he retires.

For Alun, the collaboration with the AMRC and Boeing is a fundamental catalyst. This partnership has already led to some great conversations, building trust and showcasing Loop Technology's capabilities.

In South Yorkshire, amidst the challenges of lengthy development cycles and complex funding, a powerful synergy is strengthening. It's a blend of cutting-edge research, regional dynamism and a deep-seated commitment to skills that builds the future of flight. 

The journey certainly is long, but with this collaborative spirit and manufacturing roots, the UK aerospace sector is reaching new heights.