Researchers rely on 3D printing for green aviation and aerospace

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Innovative eco-engines from the 3D printer

Additive manufacturing processes are also at the heart of the EU project "ENLIGHTEN" (European Initiative for Low-cost, Innovative & Green High Thrust Engine Project), which was launched in November 2022 and is directed and coordinated by the Ariane Group. Exactly 18 partners from eight European countries have had only one goal since the start of the project: The development of cost-effective and environmentally friendly rocket engines, which are to work, among other things, with biomethane and green hydrogen. The new eco-engines are intended to power the next generation of European reusable rockets to strengthen Europe's competitiveness in the global space sector, as the participants explain. Here, the Aachen Institute comes into play. Specialists from the Additive Manufacturing and Repair LMD group are developing a process within the project to manufacture rocket components more efficiently and precisely using laser material deposition (LMD). The special feature is that they could drastically improve the speed and economy of manufacturing novel rocket nozzles through LMD. The examined design features—aside from its large build envelope—exceptionally delicate and thin-walled cooling channels, which would only be achievable with great effort using conventional manufacturing possibilities. The goal by the end of the project in October 2025 is therefore the LMD manufacturing of a nozzle that can be used for the next generation of rockets in the Ariane program and to build a full-scale demonstrator.

Future rocket nozzles will also become cheaper

Conventional methods are further criticized for the current standard process. Since no company can offer all the different process steps in a local production, the components must be transported to several locations. This resulting process chain leads to a time- and cost-intensive production that often takes several months. However, with the process technology used in the project, which saves many individual process steps, significant cost reduction is achieved, and at the same time, the production time of a rocket nozzle is significantly shortened. By the end of the project, a reliable and regulated manufacturing process including quality assurance for series production should be developed. An inline system is intended to monitor the entire process with sensors, detect process anomalies, correct them if necessary, and ensure consistently high component quality. The researchers point to their Formnext appearance from November 19 to 22 in Frankfurt am Main in Hall 11.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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Sustainable air kisses