Led by Airbus, this £38 million, four-year UK aerospace programme will develop and deploy the latest additive manufacturing (AM) technologies—such as beam shaping and in-situ process monitoring—to make metal laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) AM more cost-effective, productive, and sustainable for flight-ready parts. The project, which runs until June 2028, is a research and innovation initiative funded through Innovate UK, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and the UK Department for Business and Trade.
By prioritising resource efficiency, material reuse, and circular design principles, DECSAM aims to reduce waste and carbon intensity across the AM value chain, supporting the aerospace sector’s transition toward net-zero manufacturing and more sustainable aviation.
The project brings together 11 leading organisations covering aerospace OEMs, Tier 1&2 suppliers, SMEs and research institutes, providing full UK AM manufacturing chain coverage. The partners including Airbus Operations Limited (lead), Renishaw plc, ASTM International UK, Authentise Ltd, The Manufacturing Technology Centre Limited, GKN Aerospace Services Limited, Additive Manufacturing Solutions Ltd, APEX Additive Technologies Ltd, Domin Limited, University of Sheffield, and ToffeeX Limited.
Market forecast by Region, Segment, Power, Platform (Space & Defence), and Applications (Space & Defence). Country Analysis, Market and Technology Overview, Opportunities and Impact Analysis, and Leading Company Profiles
Download free sample pages More information“Additive manufacturing can unlock new efficiencies in aerospace, lowering costs, optimising material use, reducing weight, and consolidating complex assemblies into single parts,” said Jacqueline Castle, Chief Technology Officer at the Aerospace Technology Institute. “DECSAM unites a strong consortium to accelerate adoption in civil aerospace, aligning closely with the ATI’s additive manufacturing strategy to drive future economic growth and sustainability.”
DECSAM will demonstrate an integrated, digitally connected AM supply chain, from alloy selection and build strategies to post-processing, inspection and factory scale-up. “In order to demonstrate AMs future cost competitiveness for aerospace applications”.
What DECSAM will deliver
To cut part cost, raise quality, and shorten design-build-test loops for aerospace applications, DECSAM is structured around four innovation pillars:
Planned outputs include ground and flight-test demonstrators, validated recycled/repurposed powder routes, widened powder specifications, verified parameter themes for quality and throughput, in-process monitoring software offerings, and guidance for routes to qualification and certification, all targeted at accelerating industrial exploitation.
GKN Aerospace is a risk and revenue sharing partner in a number of leading aero-engines and will leverage this position to integrate multiple DECSAM-developed technologies to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of powder bed additive manufacturing for future engine products. GKN will lead the assessment and development of new material systems including sustainable feedstock, part-based simulation methods, and co-ordinate both in-situ inspection and monitoring, and Laser Powder Bed productivity studies.
Sébastien Aknouche SVP Material Solutions at GKN Aerospace said: “The DECSAM Project strengthens GKN Aerospace’s broader additive manufacturing capabilities, delivering environmental, performance, and supply chain advantages over traditional material supply chains. With growing demand for additive solutions from all engine customers, this project enhances our UK technology base and positions us for future production growth.”
Why it matters
L-PBF is flight-proven, but wider uptake is constrained by end-to-end productivity gaps, fragmented data/QA, and reliance on overseas steps (powder, HIP, advanced heat-treat). DECSAM closes those gaps by linking UK materials supply, machine capability, in-process quality assurance, a robust digital thread, and factory scale-up—so parts are repeatable, cost-competitive, and producible at volume in the UK, supporting net-zero 2050.
The programme is business-case led: recycled/UK-made powders; optimised build and nesting; in-process monitoring with closed-loop control to reduce or eliminate HIP/CT where feasible; and parameter/alloy development to cut finishing time. Cost-modelled demonstrators (e.g., an aircraft floor beam) show the shift from today’s “as-is” to a digitally connected, production-ready “to-be” at a cost point which enables AM to buy its way into serial aerospace production.
Focus use cases include ultra-efficient wing & engine structures and hydrogen subsystems (conformal heat exchangers, fuel-cell manifolds). Alongside performance gains, DECSAM mitigates single-source casting risks, on-shores critical pre-form manufacture, and advances compact AM-enabled actuation toward power-by-wire—delivering more right-first-time, certifiable parts, shorter lead times, a resilient UK supply chain, and cleaner aerospace manufacturing.
DECSAM at a glance:
Funding acknowledgement: This work is supported by the ATI Programme: a partnership of the Aerospace Technology Institute, the Department for Business & Trade and Innovate UK.
