Summer 2025 was rich in initiatives and collaborations for IRT Saint Exupéry!
Ideas sparked, partnerships were formed, and projects gained momentum—sometimes in unexpected ways. Let’s take a look back at these highlights that illustrate our commitment to shaping innovation and advancing technological research.
White Paper – “AI for Sustainable Aeronautics”
IRT Saint Exupéry contributed to the drafting of the white paper “AI for Sustainable Aeronautics”, published by Aerospace Valley. This project brought together 45 experts from 22 different organizations and presents an ambitious roadmap to address the sector’s challenges, notably decarbonization, production, and skills development.
Integrating AI into such a highly regulated field as aeronautics requires significant advances in certification. This is why IRT is leading initiatives such as DEEL France–Quebec (supported by ANITI Toulouse) to develop methodologies that make AI models explainable, safe, and compliant with aeronautical safety requirements.
Institutional and Strategic Meetings
with the General Secretariat for Investment
On July 11, a meeting took place between Jean-Christian Beucher, Christian Picollet, Loïc Courtot, and Katia Cargnelli Barral, Advisor for Technology Transfer and Program Director for Research Valorization. This discussion, part of the #France2030 plan, highlighted the importance of IRTs and ITEs in ensuring technological sovereignty, fostering sustainable transitions, and improving industrial performance.
With GIFAS
On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming Baptiste Voillequin, Director of R&D at GIFAS. This meeting was an opportunity to showcase our resources and strengthen synergies between our technological research initiatives and the work of the GIFAS R&D commission. A big thank you to him for his attentive listening and his trust!
Industrial Visits and Cooperations
IMT Mines Albi
On August 22, Lionel Luquin, Director of IMT Mines Albi, and Xavier Lorca, Director of Research and Innovation, visited our institute. These exchanges provided a chance to better understand our resources and ambitions, deepen our shared research areas, and explore collaborations that could bring real added value.
Airbus Atlantic
On August 26, Airbus Atlantic teams gathered for their monthly R&D steering meeting. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss our ongoing and upcoming collaborations, with a particular focus on high-value materials and advanced manufacturing technologies.
Latecoere
Members of Latecoere—Stéphane Bouzat (EVP Innovation & R&T Group, Aerospace sector), Patrick Vergnot, and Adrien Elias—visited our technological platforms. The discussions provided an opportunity to address the challenges facing the aeronautics sector and outline new avenues for collaboration.
Research & Innovation Synergies
Michael Toplis, President of the Community of Universities and Institutions of Toulouse, Matthieu Arlat, Vice-President of the Research Commission, and Virginie Mahdi, Deputy Director General in charge of Research, Innovation, Valorization, and International Affairs, met to strengthen ties between IRT Saint Exupéry and the academic ecosystem.
These meetings contributed to shaping UT Innovation – PUI Université de Toulouse and encouraged sustainable collaboration between research and industry, with the goal of supporting major industrial and scientific transitions.
International Presence
Our teams participated in the AIAA AVIATION Conference in Las Vegas, alongside Airbus, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and ONERA. This event provided an opportunity to exchange on multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) and strengthen our international network in the aeronautics sector.
New Projects
DiOXYGEN
On July 8, we held the first biannual meeting of the DiOXYGEN project, launched in December 2024. Co-funded by CEA DAM, Saint-Gobain, MBDA, PYROMERAL Technology Inc, Safran Ceramics, ArianeGroup, Andra, and DGA, this project aims to develop new manufacturing processes and characterization methods for oxide/oxide CMCs.
This meeting allowed partners to share progress made over the past seven months and strengthen cooperation across the consortium. A big thank you to everyone for their commitment and engagement!
These highlights perfectly illustrate our mission: bringing together public research and industry to accelerate technological innovation and collectively tackle the great challenges of our time. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributes to this momentum and supports us in this journey!
