Constellium Set To Meet Aluminum-Lithium Demand
Airbus has chosen Constellium’s Airware aluminum alloys for the A350 XWB’s fuselage and wing ribs, while Bombardier uses them for its CSeries fuselage barrels. (Photo: Constellium)
Airbus has chosen Constellium’s Airware aluminum alloys for the A350 XWB’s fuselage and wing ribs, while Bombardier uses them for its CSeries fuselage barrels. (Photo: Constellium)

A new aluminum-lithium foundry in Issoire, France, opened March 26 by aluminum specialist Constellium embodies the latest effort to regain ground lost to composite materials in aircraft construction. Dedicated to a new line of alloys dubbed Airware, the new casthouse has the capacity to produce 14,000 metric tons of aluminum-lithium per year, making it the world’s first large-scale production facility of the alloy.