2024-01-01 05:00:00
1 – How to replicate an Airbus A320
This is the story of an A320 delivered by Airbus to China in the early 2000s which apparently disappeared from radar screens. This would have been dismantled in a hangar in Beijing to be analyzed then copied before emerging in 2008 in the form of a C919, the brand new model from the Chinese manufacturer Comac. The story, which seems to be an anecdote, is true. This is not a first. The Concorde was copied by the Russians in the 1970s, under the Tupolev Tu-144 model, with the not-so-subtle nickname “Concordsky”.
2 – Discovery of the largest lithium deposit in the world
The largest lithium deposit in the world would no longer be in Bolivia, but in the United States. An area of the North American west coast containing between 20 and 40 million tonnes of lithium was discovered in September 2023. Good news for the American automobile industry, as global lithium production is to be multiplied by 10 here 2040 to meet the needs of the electric vehicle industry.
3 – Historical date for nuclear fusion
December 5, 2022 will go down in the annals of atomic fusion. That day, at around 1 a.m. in California, a laser developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) succeeded in triggering a controlled nuclear fusion reaction, capable of producing more energy than it could. consumes it, reported L’Usine Nouvelle in the March 2023 issue of the magazine. Still far from an industrial application, the discovery nevertheless opens a new era for research in atomic fusion.
4 – Russian airlines changed suppliers at the cost of flight safety
To circumvent Western sanctions linked to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian airlines are sourcing spare parts from non-aligned countries such as Iran, Turkey and China. The parts, often second-hand and coming from dismantled aircraft engines, are transported in a more or less legal manner and sometimes experience significant delays. At the risk of jeopardizing flight safety.
5 – The acquisition of Aubert & Duval delayed by China
The takeover of Aubert & Duval, a subsidiary of the mining group Eramet, by Airbus, Safran, and Tikehau ACE Capital, was delayed until January 2023. Although the European Commission gave its approval, finalization still depended on the approved by the Chinese competition authorities. This operation was nevertheless urgent: Aubert & Duval supplies essential components to Dassault’s Rafale, Airbus aircraft engines, and Naval Group’s nuclear submarines. That was before China finally agreed in April.
6 – Dassault must succeed in increasing its production rate by one additional aircraft per month within a year
Dassault can be pleased to have a full order book for the next ten years. The aircraft manufacturer nevertheless faces a major challenge: responding industrially to orders. Currently, the manufacturer is producing a rate of 2 devices per month. It is aiming for a rate of three planes to honor its contracts, but it will still take more than a year for the Mérignac factory (Gironde) to reach this rate. Because the aircraft manufacturer must bring with it a whole chain of subcontractors.
7 – What to remember from our 2023 ranking of engineering schools
In 2023, École Polytechnique wins. The institution maintains its first place in the 2023 ranking of engineering schools, followed by CentraleSupélec. Esilv, a digital school, climbs onto the podium, a symbol of the growing demand in the sector. Private schools occupy eight places in the top 20. In the regional distribution, Ile-de-France schools maintain their dominance, although Centrale Lille ranks in fourth place and Mines de Nancy maintains a solid position in ninth place. What will it be in the 2024 ranking? Answer on January 9!
8 – A large-scale factory to produce Naval Group’s gigantic PA-Ng aircraft carrier
Naval Group is opening an exceptional industrial site to produce the PA-Ng, a 70,000-ton aircraft carrier – compared to 45,000 for the Charles de Gaulle. An 8,000 m² building was delivered in 2023 to house 600 engineering and design office employees. At the beginning of 2023, another section of the site is demolished in order to build an industrial space of 10,000 m² adapted to the needs of PA-Ng. It is in this space that the two K22 nuclear boiler rooms will be assembled. In total, 100 million euros will be invested in the shipbuilder’s factory in Indret (Loire-Atlantique) between 2020 and 2028.
9 – Submission of job sheets, moment of truth for the metallurgy collective agreement
Human resources (HR) departments in the metallurgy industry will have sweated a lot in 2023 to move 1.6 million employees into the new professional classifications of the collective agreement. Adopted in February 2022, this notably requires companies to provide an up-to-date job sheet to their employees serving as a basis for minimum salaries. Many industrialists were very late in the face of a colossal project.
10 – Romain Ravaud manufactures the innovative engine that interests Renault
Romain Ravaud, a young doctor in mechatronics, is preparing to launch the final phases of pre-industrialization of axial flux electric motors which will be used by Renault for its hybrid or electric versions. His company Whylot, which employs around forty people, has 70 patents filed since its creation in 2011, including 22 with the diamond manufacturer. The latter decided to acquire a 21% stake in the Lot company in 2021. The Lot company hopes to exceed 100 jobs by the end of 2025.
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