OPTIMAD ENGINEERING SRL

Their core work

Optimad Engineering is a Turin-based SME specializing in computational engineering services for the aerospace and transport industries. They develop and apply advanced numerical methods — including adjoint solvers, reduced order models, and high-fidelity simulations — to optimize industrial designs. Their core value lies in bridging high-performance computing with practical aeronautical design challenges, helping manufacturers improve aerodynamic and structural performance through simulation rather than costly physical testing.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Optimad's early H2020 work (2015-2018) centered on aeroelastic gust modelling — a focused, application-specific problem in aircraft loads and structural safety. From 2018 onward, they broadened into general-purpose adjoint-based MDO and reduced order modelling, signaling a shift from solving one specific aeronautical problem to providing a wider computational toolkit applicable across industrial design domains. This evolution suggests growing ambition to become a versatile simulation and optimization provider rather than a niche aeroelasticity specialist.

Moving from application-specific aeronautics simulations toward general-purpose industrial optimization methods (ROMs, adjoint MDO), positioning themselves for broader engineering sectors beyond aerospace.

How they like to work

Optimad operates exclusively as a participant, never leading consortia — consistent with their size as an SME contributing specialized computational expertise to larger teams. With 41 unique partners across 11 countries in just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia typical of EU aeronautics programmes. This pattern indicates they are valued as a technical specialist brought in for their specific simulation capabilities rather than for project management or coordination.

Despite only 3 projects, Optimad has built a surprisingly broad network of 41 partners across 11 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of EU transport and aeronautics research. Their base in Turin — a major European aerospace hub — gives them natural access to Italian and broader European aeronautics networks.

What sets them apart

Optimad occupies a specific niche as a private SME offering high-end computational optimization services — a space typically dominated by university research groups or large aerospace primes. Their combination of adjoint solvers, reduced order models, and HPC expertise makes them a practical bridge between academic research and industrial product design. For consortium builders, they bring commercial engineering discipline to computationally intensive work packages without the overhead of a large corporate partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MADELEINE
  Largest funding (EUR 352K) and most technically ambitious — targeting large-scale industrial MDO in aeronautics with adjoint solvers and HPC.
• ARIA
  MSCA-RISE project on reduced order models for industry, signaling Optimad's expansion from pure aeronautics into broader industrial applications and academic-industry staff exchange.