Innovation in advanced materials: Leading companies in multilayer fibre composites for the aerospace and defence industry

The aerospace and defence industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the uptake of advanced technology, and growing importance of technologies such as hypersonics and advanced materials. In the last three years alone, there have been over 174,000 patents filed and granted in the aerospace and defence industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Aerospace, Defence & Security: Multilayer fiber composites.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 262,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the aerospace and defence industry, there are 180+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Multilayer fibre composites is a key innovation area in advanced materials

Composites are materials that consist of more than two or more different components. They are often plastics but can include other materials, such as natural fibres. Multilayer fibre composites are composites that have numerous layers of different fibres. They are often very strong thanks to the different layers that can be woven in different directions to increase strength.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established aerospace and defence companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of multilayer fibre composites.

Key players in multilayer fibre composites – a disruptive innovation in the aerospace and defence industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to multilayer fibre composites

Modern Meadow is one of the leading patent filers in multilayer fibre composites. Modern Meadow produces sustainable materials by using biofabrication processes. Besides sustainability, Modern Meadow is focused on strength, resilience and durability in its materials. Some other key patent filers in the area include Boeing, Airbus and Ford Motor.

In terms of geographic reach, Trespa International leads the pack. Gurit and Teijin stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of application diversity, Gurit held the top position, followed by Modern Meadow, Airbus, and Mitsubishi Chemical Group.

Multilayer fibre composites are of increasing interest to companies within and beyond the aerospace and defence industries. Thus, patents are being filed by a broad spectrum of firms looking to take advantage of this technology.  Aerospace and defence companies filing patents related to the technology include Boeing, Airbus, Safran, Spirit AeroSystems, and Raytheon Technologies.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the aerospace and defence industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Thematic Research: Advanced Materials in Aerospace and Defense.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.

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