AERNNOVA COMPOSITES ILLESCAS SA

Their core work

Aernnova Composites Illescas is a Spanish private company specializing in the design and manufacture of composite aerostructures for large aircraft programs. They produce structural components — fuselage sections, wing parts, and related assemblies — primarily serving major aircraft OEMs as a Tier 1 supplier. In H2020, they contributed composite manufacturing expertise to Clean Sky 2 demonstrator platforms and branched into rail vehicle composite structures and automated machining of composite materials.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2014–2018), Aernnova Composites focused squarely on conventional aircraft aerostructure programs through Clean Sky 2 airframe and large passenger aircraft demonstrators, plus composite bonding quality assurance (ComBoNDT). From 2019 onward, their scope broadened: they entered rail transport composites (PIVOT2), engaged with next-generation aircraft concepts like HLFC and propulsion integration (GAM-2020-LPA), and moved into automated composite machining with robotics (FIBREMACH). The trend shows a company transferring its core aerospace composite skills into adjacent sectors and embracing manufacturing automation.

Moving from pure aerospace supply into cross-sector composite applications and automated manufacturing, suggesting openness to partnerships beyond aviation.

How they like to work

Aernnova Composites operates almost exclusively as a third-party contributor (6 of 7 projects), meaning they are brought in by consortium members for specific manufacturing or testing expertise rather than shaping project direction. They have never coordinated an H2020 project. Despite this specialist role, they have touched 188 unique partners across 18 countries, indicating they are embedded in large Clean Sky 2 and Shift2Rail consortia where their composite skills are called upon repeatedly.

Connected to 188 unique partners across 18 countries, largely through large-scale Clean Sky 2 and Shift2Rail demonstration platforms. Their network is broad but driven by participation in mega-consortia rather than deep bilateral relationships.

What sets them apart

Aernnova Composites brings industrial-scale composite manufacturing capability — not lab research, but production-grade aerostructure fabrication. This makes them valuable when a consortium needs a partner who can actually build and test full-size composite components, not just model them. Their recent expansion into rail composites and robotic machining shows they can transfer aerospace-grade manufacturing to other transport domains.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ComBoNDT
  Their only project as a direct participant (not third party), focused on quality assurance for adhesive bonding of composite structures — the one project where they received direct EC funding (EUR 367,250).
• GAM-2020-LPA
  Large Passenger Aircraft demonstrator covering HLFC, multifunctional fuselage, and wing design — represents the most advanced aircraft integration work in their portfolio.
• FIBREMACH
  Signals a strategic pivot toward robotic automation of composite machining with an occupational health dimension, moving beyond pure aerostructure supply.