Breakout sessions – Day one

11:45 – 12:45

Room 1a: What role for the UK’s regional aerospace clusters in developing new aircraft technologies and capabilities?

Aerospace around the world is endowed with regional aerospace bodies reflecting the geographically clustered nature of the industry – 45 in Europe alone. The workshop will explore how the UK can draw on its active regional clusters to support the development of new aerospace technologies and capabilities.

Confirmed speakers: Regional Aerospace Alliances

Room 1b: Maximising dual-use technology opportunities

With increased focus on resilience and defence by governments around the world, dual-use is increasingly important, both for ensuring that Defence can take on the best of civil learning, but also for securing wider and more sustainable markets for aerospace companies. This session will hear from expert panellists about the opportunities they see in dual-use, before turning to the audience for their thoughts on how aerospace can maximise dual-use opportunities.

Confirmed speakers: Greg Wells, Head of UK Aerospace R&T Programmes, Rolls-Royce | Tom Oldham, Aerospace Policy Adviser, ADS

Room 1c: Zero-carbon Power Systems

Where is the innovation in new power systems that can deliver zero-carbon emissions? In this session we’ll hear from innovators and the research ecosystem about the advanced technologies being developed today that will power the greener aircraft of tomorrow.

Confirmed speakers: Dr Jon Cole, Head of Technology Development, Intelligent Energy | Jon Leong, Business Development Principal, Farady Institution | Zi Yeo, Principal Battery Engineer, Sora Aviation

14:00 – 15:00

Room 1a: ATI Additive Manufacturing Roadmap: One Year On

One year on from the publication of the ATI AM Strategy & Roadmap, this breakout session will explore the implementation of the roadmap to date and the next steps. The session will feature presentations from supply chain organisations that are disrupting the status quo and making AM commercially successful.

Confirmed speakers: Dan Johns, CEO, 3T | Alex Gullane, Associate Technical Director & Technical Fellow, Alloyed | Speaker TBC, ASTM

Room 1b: Sustainable Aviation Beyond 2050 – Room for All?

This panel will discuss how looking at a horizon beyond 2050 (for example, to 2070) increases the scope for new solutions such as hydrogen and electrification, and incorporates a bigger impact from the introduction of ultra-efficient aircraft some decades earlier. It will cover sustainability modelling and examine the longer term role for zero-emission aircraft, taking in the potential for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and the challenge of investing in technologies today that may not fully mature until the second half of the century.

Confirmed speakers: Andy Jefferson, Consultant, Sustainable Aviation |Prof Rob Miller, Director – Whittle Laboratory, University of Cambridge | Andy Reynolds, Head of ZEROe Hydrogen Storage and Distribution, Airbus | Tom Patrinos, Senior Consultant, Arup

Room 1C: Aerospace MRO Growth – Global Trend and UK Opportunities

This session convenes representation from the two of the largest MRO associations in the UK to discuss the current growth in global MRO, focusing on how the UK can address those commercial opportunities through technology development and innovation in aerospace aftermarket and services.

Confirmed speakers: Hua-Wei Huang, Senior Propulsion Technologist and MRO Focal – Aerospace Technology Institute | David Hoare, Head of Communications, Compliance & Ethics, GE Aerospace Wales, Member – Aerospace Wales Forum | Coreen McCubbin, CTO, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, Affiliated Member to ADS MRO Special Interest Group

Breakout sessions – Day two

11:45 – 12:45

Room 1A: Building a Competitive Edge: Strengthening the UK Supply Chain

Join us for an interactive workshop where we’ll explore and validate key strategic areas that require collective action across the industry. This session invites participants to share insights on current supply chain challenges and collaborate on identifying practical, cross-sector solutions. Your input will help shape future initiatives and foster stronger industry partnerships.

Room 1B: ATI Modelling Insights

This session will cover some of the analysis, insights and models developed by the ATI in the last year. It will explain a novel ATI propulsion system concept, share our investigations into the impact of reducing cruise speed, and describe the fuel cell model that ATI developed with Loughborough University.

Confirmed speakers: David Debney, Head of Technology, Aerospace Technology Institute | Ritvik Anand, Senior Technologist, Aerospace Technology Institute | Eduardo Lobao, Senior Technologist, Aerospace Technology Institute | Zakir Mirza, Advanced Technologist, Aerospace Technology Institute

14:00 – 15:00

Room 1A: Bringing it all together: Industry challenges and insights from the ATI assembly strategy

Following recent work by the ATI on the future of aircraft assembly, this breakout session will set the scene for what comes next. The session will showcase previous projects, highlight areas where further innovation is needed, and spotlight emerging technologies that could transform how aircraft are built.

Confirmed speakers: Tim Evans, Director, JigSaw Structures | Michael Campbell, Senior Research Scientist, National Physical Laboratory | Amer Liaqat, Technology Manager, Airbus

Room 1B: Bridging Values and Value: The UK’s Role in Europe’s Sustainable and Competitiveness Agenda

This panel will examine the evolving landscape of European aerospace research, where balancing competitiveness and sustainability is becoming increasingly complex amid shifting global policy priorities. The discussion will explore how the UK can contribute to a forward-looking research agenda that supports both global competitiveness and sustainable innovation. Bringing together perspectives from industry, academia, and European funding programmes, the panel will consider how research priorities are shaped and how the UK can engage with and influence these processes.

Confirmed speakers: Gary Way, Head of EU and International R&T Programmes, Rolls-Royce | Joeri De Ruytter, R&T Business Development Director, Honeywell Aerospace | Laura Veldenz, Programme Manager, Luchtvaart in Transitie

Room 1C: AI in Aerospace

Discover how AI could transform the aerospace manufacturing value chain—from design and validation to through-life support and augmented engineering on the shop floor. This interactive session features real-world use cases, a fireside chat, and a hands-on opportunity to develop your own AI project ideas with expert guidance using a tailored Canvas tool.

Confirmed speakers: Maria Nelson, Head of Innovation & Sustainability, Aerospace Technology Institute | Graham Upton, Head of Technology & Innovation and Chief Architect Intelligent Industry, Capgemini