Carboman, Eviation partner on all-electric composite aircraft structure

Carboman Group (Carboman; Vannes, France) has announced that it is collaborating with Eviation Aircraft, a global manufacturer of all-electric air mobility solutions, on Eviation’s Alice, an all-electric aircraft structure that will debut at the 2019 Paris Air Show next month.

Multiplast, a Carboman Group company, will present its new carbon fiber composite fuselage for Alice. The goal, Carboman says, was to create the lightest possible carbon fiber composite airframe to provide a cost-effective 650-mile range for the aircraft, while using a sustainable, low noise and zero-emission electric propulsion system. 

Carboman company Decision SA, which previously built the carbon fiber composite structure of the Solar Impulse aircrafts HB-SIA and HB-SIB, will also launch components for several projects in the new mobility sector. These autonomous and piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) crafts form a key part of the group’s future strategy.

At the show, Carboman says it will also showcase composite parts for new mobility flying solutions and announce its latest capacity expansions for aerospace customers in the aviation and space sectors. As a group, Carboman will also announce plans for expanding its production infrastructure for both aerospace tooling and components.   

SNE-SMM, the Brittany-based composite tooling specialist, joined the group in late 2017.  Now fully integrated into the Carboman family, SMM’s 5-axis CNC equipment that includes a 46 meter by 10 meter by 5 meter CMS machine and team of 35, offer tooling from ultra-large prototyping molds to high-temperature composite tools for serial production.

In addition, Decision SA will also add a new aerospace certified 2.2 meter by 6 meter 250°C 10-bar autoclave at its Ecublens site, upscaling the size of structural components that can be produced for its aerospace customers.

“Our mission at Carboman has always been to develop the construction methods for tomorrow’s composite structures and we are excited to be working on so many aerospace projects now.  Combining the highest technical standards with an ultra- efficient European infrastructure and quality standard, Carboman are perfectly placed to deliver the next generation of high-performance carbon fiber aerostructures and components” says Dominique Dubois, CEO of Carboman Group.

“We are pleased to welcome Carboman, one of the leading composite structure developers, to the global ecosystem of world-class partners that are supporting us as we bring the first all-electric zero-emission plane, Alice, to market,” says Omer Bar-Yohay, Eviation CEO. “Our goal is to change how people move, and together with Carboman, we’re providing more than simply an environmentally-friendly, affordable way to travel – we’re designing the new era of air mobility.”