A strategy for improving buy-to-fly ratio of aerospace aluminum

As aerospace designers look to cut costs, gain efficiency, and improve sustainability throughout manufacturing, they’re pointing to a number of challenges slowing their efforts. A KPMG study of aerospace and defense professionals found 68% view transformational change, such as overhauling business models, reengineering processes, and adopting new technologies, as the biggest obstacle to achieving net-zero operations.

However, their greatest opportunity, and trickiest challenge, may lie in materials management. Consider aluminum. The material’s buy-to-fly ratio is sometimes as high as 20-to-1, so for every 100kg of aluminum purchased, only 5kg may end up in a finished airplane component. That’s 95kg of material left behind that, when mixed, can’t be repurposed for other industries, wasting resources and budget.

Tackling this inefficiency is a supply chain-wide effort because the loss occurs across multiple nodes. Even if one partner tries to reduce waste, a disconnect on recycling procedures at another supplier, for example, can significantly impede progress.

For manufacturers willing to orchestrate a conservation strategy, the positive impacts could deliver a win-win for the environment and the bottom line. Here’s what the strategy might look like when working with aluminum suppliers:

Placing a greater emphasis on pre-machining

When an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) begins developing aluminum parts, the cutter’s focus isn’t to consider the amount of energy used or reduce waste. It’s to fashion aluminum sheets into the right shape, ensuring structural integrity and meeting required safety and performance standards. Even with the best intentions, this process is likely to end with aluminum scrap on the floor.

Rather than asking cutters to add another consideration to a role already requiring great precision, manufacturers should seek to reduce waste before aluminum sheets even reach the OEM. By shifting some shaping to the aluminum mill, raw material experts can implement procedures to more easily reclaim lost aluminum. This approach also helps reduce energy consumption by ensuring OEM cutters start with sheets much closer to what’s needed for production.

In the coming years, technology will also play a key role in streamlining the shaping process. Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven machining is already helping supply chain partners improve their cutting parameters and reduce opportunities for error. When OEMs and raw materials experts can leave the manual labor to machines, they’re free to focus on designing and implementing better reclamation strategies.

Promoting closed-loop recycling

Recycling is at the heart of any major sustainability effort, but a strategy focused on improving buy-to-fly ratios comes with highly specific considerations. Successful closed-loop recycling plans involve two components: traceability and segregation. Throughout this process, communication is key. Each supply chain node should know exactly which mill their material came from and be conscientious about how scrap is sorted.

Of course, segregation is much easier said than done. An airplane may contain dozens of aluminum alloys, segregated by family and even sub-family, and OEMs may use the same machine to work on similar alloys. If these alloys get mixed during recycling, they can no longer be used for aerospace-grade aluminum, and they can’t simply be repurposed into lower-grade projects. In addition, states and countries often have their specific regulations for how scrap is handled, requiring even closer attention to how recycling strategies may differ across a global supply chain.

Although this process requires commitment from all supply chain nodes, the outcome is worth it. Reusing aluminum requires only 5% of the energy required to produce new aluminum and reduces emissions by 95%.

Major manufacturers are also engaging in closed-loop recycling pilots that could uncover additional benefits. For example, Airbus is working with aluminum recyclers at several of its manufacturing plants to improve raw material traceability as it moves between machinists, scrap dealers, and melters, and by the end of 2026, the manufacturer plans to include aluminum from all its sites in closed loop recycling.

Leaning into supplier-OEM collaboration from the start

Long-term efforts, such as closed loop recycling, require continual communication. However, manufacturers should communicate early as well. Airplane design can last a decade or longer, and when supply chain nodes are considered providers rather than partners, they may not be onboarded until halfway through development.

Industry leaders recognize this disconnect comes with a cost: KPMG’s study found 47% of aerospace & defense professionals believe collaboration will better enable innovation and, ultimately, reach their decarbonization goals. By bringing aluminum partners early in the planning stages, designers gain a deeply knowledgeable partner for sustainable construction, a partner who can help pick more effective materials and steer clear of non-recyclable solutions.

The positive impacts of deeper collaboration ripple far beyond a single project. For example, earlier communication allows aluminum partners to improve their forecasting and capacity planning. If they’re aware of a project coming in a year or two, the partner can ensure they have the right amount of aluminum on hand.

This strategic plan helps reduce waste caused by overstocking, while also ensuring the partner has enough product on hand to sidestep potential delays caused by global supply chain snags. Amid ongoing supply chain disruptions, this certainty alone can be worth the effort.

From start to finish, prioritize partnership

From OEMs to raw material suppliers and the team welding it all together, every supply chain node has the same goals: to reduce waste and improve efficiency. There’s no need to work in silos when collaboration will help us reach our goals faster, while delivering better products for air travelers.

That’s why airplane manufacturers should focus on partnership from day one. By engaging suppliers early, developing a strategy that gains broad buy-in on closed-loop recycling, and taking action to reduce inefficient steps, such as moving the shaping process closer to the aluminum partner, manufacturers can improve their aluminum buy-to-fly ratio and engage their entire supply chain in their sustainability efforts.

Novelis
https://novelis.com

About the author: Johan Petry is vice president, Global Aerospace at Novelis.