22 May 2020: GKN Aerospace and Eviation have signed a partnership to work on Alice, the world's first all-electric, ground-breaking commuter aircraft launched by Eviation. As a part of the agreement GKN will design and manufacture advanced lightweight wing, empennage and wiring systems with a focus on environmental sustainability. The manufacturing process is already underway at Eviation (Israel) and in several GKN Aerospace engineering centers across Europe.
Describing this collaboration as ground breaking John Pritchard, President, Civil Airframes GKN Aerospace said, "We are excited to collaborate with Eviation and to support the development of this all-new electric aircraft. It's a step change in aviation and we are delighted to contribute by bringing unrivalled knowledge and expertise to the project."
GKN has already proven their world-leading capability in the design and manufacture of advanced lightweight aerostructures and EWIS on Airbus A220, A320, A330, A400M, A350 XWB, Boeing 767 and 787, Dassault F6X, F7X, F8X Gulfstream G550, G650, G700 and the Lockheed Martin F-35.
This capability will be used to mature the design of the empennage, wing and EWIS of Alice. It will change the way people travel by making journeys upto 650 miles more sustainable.
Matteo Borghini Lilli, Director, Wing Product Group at GKN Aerospace said, "In the quest for more sustainable and environmentally friendly aviation, we are excited to be part of the Eviation programme, which is at the forefront in taking electric flight from a future aspiration into today's reality. GKN Aerospace is proud to bring its wealth of experience in design and certification, in conjunction with key technological innovations, to achieve this aspiration."
"GKN Aerospace brings tremendous expertise to the program, allowing us to think again about what could be achieved with advanced aerostructures," said Omer Bar Yohay, Eviation's CEO and Co-Founder. "I trust that we'll see GKN Aerospace takes on a growing part of our development and manufacturing effort as the program matures and the Alice nears production."