France | April 26, 2019– What if repurposed materials from an end-of-life A320 aircraft could be turned into a new table or lamp? Two Airbus “intrapreneurs,” supported by Airbus BizLab, are doing just that—and selling these one-of-a-kind pieces on their new online shop “A Piece of Sky”.
While participating in an innovation training session at the Airbus Leadership University in 2017, Anaïs Mazaleyrat and Jérémy Brousseau quickly discovered that they shared a novel idea.
What if used aircraft parts could be given a second life…as designer furniture or interior design objects?
Recycling various aircraft materials and parts—from carbon fibre composites to aluminum and textiles—is not a new concept in the aviation industry. Reusable materials from old aircraft are often used to produce products such as circuit boards, computers and TVs. Some aircraft parts can also be recovered or refurbished for reuse in new aircraft. According to the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA), up to 85% of an aircraft is recycled. However, transforming used aircraft parts into furniture has never been done—until now.
“Re-imagined factories and ‘industrial’ furnishings are increasingly popular and, combined with aviation fans, we thought that would provide a market for products based on Airbus parts,” Jérémy says.
The idea proved appealing to the Airbus BizLab in Toulouse, which is part of a network of Airbus business accelerators around the world. Airbus BizLab fast-tracked support to get the project off the ground. Throughout 2018, the duo worked on developing furniture prototypes with a group of 11 design professionals—including industrial designers, artists, craftspeople, design consultants and manufacturers. Twenty-two prototypes, from armchairs to coffee tables, have been created so far. In January 2019, they sent out a new request for designer submissions through a collaborative platform to launch season two of their furniture and interior design object collection.
From waste to worth: Upcycling Aircraft Parts
For Anaïs, repurposing aircraft parts as furniture is not a full-scale replacement for conventional recycling. However, it is, she believes, a viable alternative to traditional waste disposal.
“By ‘upcycling’ non-quality and end-of-life parts, we make the most of some beautiful, rare materials, pay tribute to the skill involved in their manufacture, and demonstrate alternative, positive ways of dealing with waste,” she says.
Upcycling, also known as “creative reuse,” is the process of transforming waste materials or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality or for increased environmental value. Increasingly, manufacturers, consumers and governments are upcycling to keep old products out of landfills by transforming them into something new.
And Airbus is looking to play its part, too.
“Our role at the Chief Technology Office is to nurture innovative ideas wherever they come from,” explains Grazia Vittadini, Airbus CTO. “This is why we created the BizLabs, to support entrepreneurs such as Anaïs and Jérémy by speeding up the transformation of their ideas into a viable business model aligned with our values.”
The “Piece of sky” shop is now online. Visit the dedicated Instagram account to view the selection of armchairs, coffee tables and lamps currently available for purchase.
- Boeing-COMAC Sustainable Aviation Technology Center to pursue mutually beneficial research in materials recycling, air travel for aging populations, workplace safety
Zhuhai, China | November 1, 2016– Boeing [NYSE:BA] and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) today signed a new agreement to expand their joint research collaboration in support of the long-term sustainable growth of commercial aviation.
The two companies, which signed an initial collaboration agreement in March 2012, have been researching ways to improve aviation’s fuel efficiency and greenhouse-gas emissions reduction, including sustainable aviation biofuel and air traffic management (ATM) efficiency.
Through this new agreement, signed at the Zhuhai Airshow, the companies will explore six areas of mutually beneficial research through the renamed Boeing-COMAC Sustainable Aviation Technology Center. They will also continue to exchange commercial aviation market forecasts.
“As we approach the 45th year of collaboration between Boeing and China’s aviation industry, Boeing and COMAC are expanding our efforts to ensure commercial aviation’s long-term sustainable growth, improve its efficiency and reduce environmental impact,” said Ian Chang, vice president, Supplier Management China Operations & Business Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Our mutually beneficial research with COMAC supports Boeing’s global effort to enable growth and partner to address challenges for our industry.”
“The two companies have enhanced mutual trust and understanding during five years of working together,” said Wu Guanghui, Vice President of COMAC. “The agreement signed today extends and will bring our cooperation to a new level, enabling the two companies to leverage their own advantages for win-win results that can benefit not only China, but also the rest of world.”
Research areas for the Sustainable Aviation Technology Center will include:
- Technologies supporting sustainable aviation fuel development and assessing the benefit to aviation of using these technologies;
- ATM technologies and applications;
- Environmentally sustainable manufacturing, including enhanced recycling of materials;
- Technologies to enhance the airplane cabin environment related to environmental stewardship and air travel by aging populations;
- New industry or international standards in aviation energy conservation and emissions reduction;
- Improvements in workplace safety during cabin and ground operations.
As they have since 2012, Boeing and COMAC will jointly select and fund research by China-based universities and research institutions. Their initial agreement created the Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions (AECER) Technology Center. Since then, the Boeing-COMAC AECER Center conducted 17 research projects, leading to an aviation biofuel demonstration facility that turns waste “gutter oil” into jet fuel and three ATM software prototype systems. The Center has attracted participation of 12 domestic and international research partners.
In addition, Boeing and COMAC plan to open a joint venture facility in Zhoushan, China, that will install interiors and paint 737s before Boeing delivers these airplanes to Chinese customers.
China is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has forecast that passenger traffic in China will reach 485 million this year and will reach 1.5 billion passengers in 2030. Boeing has estimated that Chinese airlines will need to purchase more than 6,800 new airplanes through 2035 to meet fast-growing demand for domestic and international air travel.
The new IFExpress website looks great!! What an improvement over the old site... it is like a whole new world. Cheers and kudos from New York City.”