Norsk Titanium and Airbus have signed a new Cooperation & Research Agreement (CRA) to jointly industrialize and qualify Norsk Titanium’s proprietary Rapid Plasma Deposition® (RPD®) technology for high-criticality structural titanium parts. This partnership signals growing confidence in plasma-based DED as a viable path to series production in commercial aerospace.
The agreement follows the recent FAA certification of the Lower Frame Fitting for the Airbus A350, described as the largest and highest classification additively manufactured component to be certified by both EASA and FAA for an aerostructure in commercial aerospace, now in series production at Norsk Titanium’s Plattsburgh facility.
“Together with the recent FAA certification of the Lower Frame Fitting for the Airbus A350, this represents an additional endorsement of our RPD® technology and another step toward expanding the adoption across commercial aircraft programs”, says Fabrizio Ponte, CEO of Norsk Titanium.
Under the CRA, the two companies will jointly mature RPD® for fatigue-critical structural elements, focusing on titanium wire qualification, industrial process validation, and standardization in line with Airbus specifications. Work will span Airbus’ Saint Eloi and Varel plants, embedding RPD® into the OEM’s material, process, and industrial standards.
The announcement builds on a trajectory that has been years in the making. As we reported, Airbus has been actively expanding its DED footprint: Airbus produced more than 25,000 flight-ready 3D-printed parts in 2025, and with over 200,000 3D-printed parts in active flight today, has already demonstrated 43% weight reduction and 85% reduction in lead time for parts used on the A350 alone. More recently, Airbus has been developing what it calls a “designed for DED” concept, leveraging wire-DED to produce structural aircraft parts.
On the supplier side, Norsk Titanium has steadily expanded its qualifications. The company previously delivered a 3D-printed flight-critical structure to a defense customer.
The collaboration is structured around four work packages covering technology scaling, material and process qualification, and material expansion beyond titanium, and complements the Master Supply Agreement Norsk Titanium signed with Airbus Aerostructures in 2024.
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