News
ZAL Appoints New CEO
As of October 1, Dr Eckart Frankenberger takes over as CEO of ZAL. He succeeds Roland Gerhards, who is leaving the company at his own request. With Frankenberger, ZAL gains a highly experienced engineer who has spent some 25 years of his aviation career at Airbus.
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ELO: High-Tech for Safer Seas
The ELO research project is turning drones into smart helpers at sea. Supported by AI, they provide emergency services with a real-time picture during maritime incidents – but only greater autonomy will unlock their full potential.
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AutoTank: Taking Shape
Aircraft water tanks made of fiber composites are lightweight but expensive to manufacture, because they are usually cured in a huge, heated pressure chamber: the autoclave. The AutoTank research project aims to make this process simpler and more efficient without an autoclave.
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ZAL.award 2026 – Make it Yours!
Our ecosystem is working on amazing projects, solving problems, conducting experiments, and validating feasibility studies. But much of this remains invisible even to potential partners or supporters. That’s exactly where the ZAL.award comes in. It’s not about the trophy in your office (though you’ll get that anyway), it’s about making your work visible within ZAL, on social media, in trade publications, presentations, and much more.
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Licht am Ende des Datentunnels (GoldenGate)
Cameras, smart sensors, and AI systems could increasingly take over tasks on board in the future – from assisting pilots to optimizing fuel consumption. The recently launched GoldenGate research project investigates how these growing volumes of data can be processed efficiently and transmitted to the ground via an optical connection within just a few minutes after landing.
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ZAL Family Day 2026
For the 10th anniversary of the ZAL TechCenter, we opened our doors for a special day within our community: At the ZAL Family Day, employees and tenants were able to show their families and friends what they work on every day.
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XPONENTIAL EUROPE: ZAL showcases H2 drone
Vom 24. bis 26. März war das ZAL auf der XPONENTIAL Europe in Düsseldorf vertreten. Im Fokus standen Wasserstoffdrohnen und ihr enormes Potenzial: Mit Flugzeiten von bis zu 2,5 Stunden bei gasförmigem Wasserstoff und sogar über 8 Stunden bei flüssigem Wasserstoff eröffnen die Systeme neue Möglichkeiten für Anwendungen wie das Monitoring von Küsten- und Gewässerinfrastrukturen oder Pipeline-Inspektionen.
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ZAL AI project is a finalist at the Crystal Cabin Award 2026
ZAL GmbH, together with 3D.aero GmbH and the Institute of Aircraft Production Technology (IFPT), developed the project Automated Quality Inspection, which has now reached the final of the Crystal Cabin Award 2026.
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ZAL Innovation Days 2026 – A Look Back
The fourth edition of our flagship event, the ZAL Innovation Days 2026, once again brought together international voices on topics currently defining aviation. Among the speakers were Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Alaska Airlines, aviation journalist Jon Ostrower and many more.
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Cabin Inspection: From Clipboard to AI
Before a new aircraft takes off for the first time, the cabin undergoes a thorough inspection during handover to the airline. The new DrumView research project could make this visual inspection faster, more efficient, and even possible remotely.
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