Innovation in the aerospace industry is so profound that “everything that can fly today is being reinvented”, said Olivier Ribet, executive vice president (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia) at Dassault Systèmes.

Speaking during the Farnborough International Airshow 2022, Ribet predicted “lots of changes in consumer habits, business travel, the transportation of goods across the world, but also in the planes themselves” over the next decade.

He said: “Everything that can fly today is being reinvented, from electrical vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) with companies like Vertical Aerospace, who is a big customer from Dassault Systemes, to electrification and hydrogen and definition of the new passenger experiences.”

‘There is a lot happening’

In addition to these global shifts in the state of air travel, Ribet said that there were also “new methods to build, manufacture, maintain, repair, service” aircraft. “There is a lot happening!”

Commenting on the emergence of the eVTOL sector, Ribet commented: “It is currently being defined and invented by a lot of innovative companies. But also by the regulators; a lot of governments around the world are trying to figure out what to do with that.

“There is a lot of innovation and new services for transportation of goods. It is a brand new industry that is going to revolutionise, big time, the way we transport ourselves and move in the world.”

Material progress

Progress is also being made behind the scenes, in the materials being developed for tomorrow’s aircraft.

“There is a big focus now on material science,” he explained. “A lot of innovation is happening at the chemical level, at the metallic level … a lot of innovation is happening in this domain and we are really invested in that.”
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