Reducing waste, maximizing usage: enhancing the recycling of titanium and aluminum materials
Airbus is making significant strides in enhancing the lifecycle of titanium and aluminium used in aerospace manufacturing, adopting a circular economy approach to support sustainability and operational efficiency.
Key aspects of Airbus' circular economy strategy include:
1. Closing the loop in materials use: Airbus aims for a long-term vision where 100% of materials in the aircraft value chain are recycled or reused within the aerospace industry. While fully closed loops are challenging due to strict safety and performance requirements, Airbus is making significant progress towards this goal by embracing circular economy principles.
2. Intelligent design and efficient resource use: Airbus incorporates design strategies that make products easier to recycle and reuse, minimising waste and optimising material use throughout production and end-of-life stages.
3. Advanced recycling technologies: By improving recycling processes for titanium and aluminium, Airbus ensures better recovery and reuse of these critical metals, which conserves natural resources and reduces environmental impact. Notable examples include the joint venture EcoTitanium, which involves Airbus as a co-owner and is focused on ecological recycling methods for titanium.
4. Collaborative innovation: Airbus works with partners across the value chain, including material suppliers and ecological agencies, to foster innovation that supports circularity for these metals.
The circular economy approach not only reduces waste and emissions associated with raw material extraction and processing but also enhances the resilience and efficiency of aerospace manufacturing operations, positioning Airbus as a pioneer in sustainable aerospace.
Airbus is also working on increasing circularity across the value chain through the ten 'Rs' (refuse, reduce, rethink, reuse, repair, refurbish, repurpose, remanufacture, recycle, and recover). For instance, Tarmac Aerosave, a company jointly owned by Airbus, Safran, and Suez, has partnered with Constellium to recycle fuselages into new aluminium alloys that meet aerospace manufacturing specifications.
EcoTitanium, a joint venture between Airbus and other partners, has made significant strides in recycling titanium scraps. Since 2024, EcoTitanium has been recycling titanium scraps gathered from engine pylon production at Airbus' Saint-Eloi factory in Toulouse, France. In June 2025, EcoTitanium completed the manufacturing of the first ingot containing end-of-life titanium from an Airbus pylon.
Meanwhile, Airbus is using advanced manufacturing technologies, such as additive layer manufacturing (ALM), to produce aircraft parts from titanium with minimal waste. The company is also investing in recycling titanium production floor scraps and has partnered with aluminium producers Constellium and Novelis to establish closed loop recycling of aluminium production scrap.
VAS Aero Services, a subsidiary of an Airbus-owned company, offers an end-of-life dismantling programme for aircraft parts, sorting them into categories for resale or recycling. Depending on the type of aircraft and its age, VAS Aero Services can recover anywhere from 300 to 6,000 parts for resale.
Airbus' dedication to advancing materials circularity within the aerospace value chain, focusing on titanium and aluminium, has led to notable achievements, such as the installation of the first two DED-manufactured parts on an A350 in July 2023. However, continued collaboration and dedication will be required to fulfill Airbus' long-term vision of closing the loop for aerospace materials.
[1] Airbus (2023). Airbus' Circular Economy Approach. [Online] Available at: https://www.airbus.com/sustainability/aircraft/circular-economy.html [3] EcoTitanium (2023). EcoTitanium: A Joint Venture for Sustainable Aerospace Manufacturing. [Online] Available at: https://www.ecotitanium.fr/ [5] Tarmac Aerosave (2023). Recycling Fuselages into New Aluminium Alloys. [Online] Available at: https://www.tarmacaerosave.com/en/news/recycling-fuselages-into-new-aluminium-alloys/
Airbus is adopting advanced recycling technologies, such as the joint venture EcoTitanium, to improve the recovery and reuse of critical metals like titanium, aligning with its circular economy approach. Additionally, Airbus is leveraging technology in additive layer manufacturing to produce aircraft parts from titanium with minimal waste, demonstrating its commitment to creating a circular economy within the aerospace industry.
