The Joint Labs are created in collaboration with industrial partners and research centres – world leaders in their respective areas of expertise, with the aim of developing and improving Leonardo's technology and product portfolio.

The Leonardo-Solvay Joint Lab

The Joint Lab stemming from the collaboration between Leonardo and Solvay, located at the Grottaglie (Taranto) Leonardo Lab, is devoted to developing engineered materials for large and complex aerospace structures.

The laboratory’s research involves the field of advanced thermoplastic matrix materials – particularly automatic welding and lamination processes – with a view to improving the performance and safety properties of its products, extending their lifecycle, and increasing the efficiency of the company’s production lines.

Thermoplastic composites have unique characteristics that can reduce the weight of aircraft, making them more fuel efficient. These new materials have a direct impact on the environment and on the consumption of resources, thus promoting a circular and efficient production system. 

This agreement between Leonardo and Solvay is a starting point for further short- to medium-term collaboration platforms to develop applications in a variety of fields, including aerospace.

Leonardo-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)

The three Leonardo-IIT Joint Labs, born out of the collaboration between Leonardo and the IIT, are located at the Leonardo Lab in Genoa. A national point of reference for the digitalisation of industrial processes and technologies, these labs focus on researching and developing new solutions in the fields of robotics, supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence.

The three laboratories, supported by the Leonardo and IIT supercomputers – davinci-1 and Franklin respectively – develop:

• Robotic systems integrated with Artificial Intelligence, for industrial applications aimed at improving security, planned and predictive logistics management, production and product quality, and after-sales services
• Robotic systems that can be used in non-industrial environments requiring the ability to adapt to unexpected situations and critical environmental conditions, and to act autonomously. These systems can also be applied in space environments where instruments are subject to radiation, marked temperature fluctuations and particularly challenging mobility conditions. A further application is in response to natural disasters.
• High performance computing to support the digitalisation process.