Solvay supplies composites, adhesives, technical support to Novotech Seagull aircraft development

Solvay (Alpharetta, Ga., U.S.) is partnering with Italian urban air mobility (UAM) company Novotech s.r.l. (Naples, Italy) and will provide access to its range of thermoset, thermoplastic composites and adhesive materials as well as dedicated technical support to develop the structure of the second prototype of Novotech’s hybrid Seagull water landing aircraft, due to fly late 2021.

More specifically, Novotech selected Solvay’s aerospace-qualified and NCAMP-registered MTM 45-1 and CYCOM 5320-1 resin systems. These two products have an aerospace pedigree system, Solvay says, with a large publicly available dataset, process flexibility and product forms required to enable rapid adoption and time to market.

“Solvay is proud to support Novotech with our qualified aerospace technologies as they make inroads in the UAM field [like the company’s support of the CAAM consortium], developing novel aircraft that will contribute to a sustainable future for mobility,” says Gerald Perrin, program director for Solvay's composite materials unit.

According to Leonardo Lecce, CEO of Novotech, the Seagull is to be the first two-seater aircraft featuring carbon fiber composite components manufactured via automated fiber placement (AFP) rather than via manual processes. “The introduction of such advanced automated production processes represents a first step towards the development of scalable products for a viable UAM environment,” Lecce says.

The composite-intensive Seagull is a hybrid-electric aircraft boasting an automatic folding wing system. It is also capable of both landing and taking off from lakes and sea thanks to its trimaran hull configuration, which is said enables a low-cost air-maritime mobility system.

Novotech is already working on its next program, a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with Solvay as a key partner in the selection of composite and adhesive materials. This next aircraft will be able to carry four passengers, have a cruise speed of 150-180 kilometers per hour and a range of 200-400 kilometers Novotech says.