ProjectENLIGHTEN
Ongoing“European iNitiative for Low cost, Innovative & Green High Thrust Engine.” ENLIGHTEN develops next-generation technologies to reduce the cost of European rocket engines, combining additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and innovative low-cost systems. IREPA LASER contributes to the project through its expertise in laser metal additive manufacturing, particularly in the development and optimisation of material deposition processes (DED).
Information
Start date: 1 November 2022
Duration: 36 months
The ENLIGHTEN project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement No. 101082326.
Background
The space sector is a source of economic growth, jobs and exports, contributing to all the key strategic orientations of the EU strategic plan. In the face of growing competition and technological disruption, it is vital to act in support of the development of European space launchers in order to preserve Europe’s independent access to space. Faced with a smaller market than their competitors and lower launch prices, European launchers must improve their competitiveness by halving the launch price in the short term. In the long term, Europe will create common building blocks for an integrated and competitive European range of launchers of all scales with reuse capabilities. Europe must therefore focus its efforts on the liquid propulsion system, which can account for half the cost of the launcher and is essential for reusability.
IREPA LASER approach
Within ENLIGHTEN (European iNitiative for Low cost, Innovative & Green High Thrust Engine), the consortium will strive to increase the competitiveness of European high-thrust engines by preparing a Green High Thrust Engine demonstrator based on liquid hydrogen, using :
- The latest advances in additive manufacturing to reduce the cost and number of engine parts
- Edge AI and machine learning algorithms to develop Europe’s first space engine health monitoring system, needed to implement reusability
- New low-cost subsystems for engine ignition, nozzle extension, valves and integrated flexible lines
This future demonstrator, ENLIGHTEN, which will achieve its goal of developing new technologies, will be tested as part of a future project on DLR’s P5 High Thrust Engine test benches.
Funding
ENLIGHTEN will achieve its goal of reducing the cost of launch engines through its consortium, bringing together aerospace players such as ArianeGroup, AVIO, DLR and ONERA with start-ups and SMEs working on ALM and AI, as well as research/academic organisations such as FraunHofer and KU Leuven, and will rely on AZO to ensure the dissemination of results for the benefit of all EU industries.
- Total budget : 17 585 397,25€
- Total budget for IREPA LASER : 407 250€
- Funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme : 407 250€
Further details
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