Solvay has been appointed as primary composite material supplier to BETA Technologies, with the company to provide qualification support and advanced materials for the production of BETA’s ALIA CTOL and VTOL aircraft.

“Solvay is proud to be the advanced material supplier of choice for BETA Technologies as they bring their new aircraft to market,” said Marc Doyle, Executive Vice President, Composite Materials, Solvay.

“These vehicles represent a new dawn in safe and efficient electric aviation. Solvay’s unrivalled portfolio of composite, adhesive and specialty polymer solutions will help ensure the development of lightweight and certifiable aircrafts.

“Our technical team is supporting BETA and its partners both remotely and on site across material qualification, certification, and industrialisation. We are excited to be involved in this pioneering program.”

BETA Technologies founder and CEO, Kyle Clark added: “We are focussed on building the safest, most reliable, technically proficient and scalable electric aircraft, and that means starting from the strongest foundation possible, right down to the materials and systems we use.

“We are proud to be collaborating with Solvay and benefitting from their broad knowledge and experience of aerospace materials qualifications and unmatched technical support.”

Solvay and BETA are collaborating to select and qualify a tailored suite of materials from Solvay’s portfolio to meet the rigorous performance and rate demands of the advanced air mobility market.

Composites and specialty polymers will be used for primary and secondary structures, as well as non-structural parts, combining multifunctional integration with high strength and low weight, as well as electromagnetic interference and lightning protection.

In June, Solvay signed an agreement with Ascendance Flight Technologies, an aviation startup located in Toulouse, France.