On October 18th, 2023 “Galileo” was inaugurated: it is the first Italian demonstrative plant for carbon fiber production, located near the MAE facility in Fiorenzuola and built within the research and development project Lampo (Leonardo Automated Manufacturing Process for Composit).

The project was made possible through a strategic collaboration with Leonardo, the participation of Aviorec, the involvement of Cnr (National Research Council), and the financial support of Invitalia. This collaboration allowed MAE to establish the first experimental carbon fiber production line in Italy.

Galileo lays the groundwork for producing carbon fiber spools in our country, applicable in the civil aerospace and automotive industries, as well as in the energy sector. This represents a significant strategic advantage for Italy, one of the world’s major consumers and transformers of carbon fiber. The main goal of the research and development project was to experiment with a potential production model by implementing automatic systems for detecting and correcting defects that may occur during the production of polymer and carbon fiber-based composite materials, making them more efficient.
MAE has developed optimized chemical recipes, including the recovery of 99.5% of solvents used in the processes, ensuring advanced performance, especially in the aerospace sector.

“The inauguration of this plant,” says Marco Rovellini, President of MAE, “marks a fundamental step in the Italian industry, ensuring carbon fiber production in our country, previously predominantly imported from China and Japan. I thank Leonardo for believing in this project from the beginning and Aviorec, Cnr for scientific support, and Invitalia for financial support, key institutional partners that have made the development of solutions for strategic sectors of our production system possible.”