Liebherr-Aerospace to showcase AM valve block and heat exchanger at ILA 2026

Liebherr-Aerospace will display several additively manufactured components at ILA Berlin from June 10–14, 2026, including a valve block for the Airbus A350 lower cargo door actuation system — described as the first complex additively manufactured hydraulic component to enter series production. The company will also exhibit an additively manufactured air-liquid heat exchanger, supporting its broader thermal management portfolio for aircraft, helicopters, and drones. Alex Vlielander, Chief Customer Officer, stated that electrification, additive manufacturing, and other innovative technologies are core to Liebherr’s forward strategy.

This announcement is significant not because it reveals new technology, but because it demonstrates the quiet maturation of metal AM within aerospace qualification frameworks. The A350 valve block represents a production-series hydraulic component — a part category where leak integrity, surface finish, and fatigue life impose extreme qualification burdens. That Liebherr has moved this from prototype to series production without fanfare fits the pattern established by GE’s LEAP fuel nozzle: once AM parts are embedded in certified aircraft programs, they stop being marketing headlines and become infrastructure. The heat exchanger, meanwhile, addresses the growing thermal management demands of aircraft electrification, a vertical where AM’s design freedom for compact, conformal channels offers a genuine advantage over conventional brazed assemblies.

For industry observers, the practical takeaway is that Liebherr has cleared the qualification hurdle for a safety-critical hydraulic component in a major Airbus program. The company’s next challenge is scaling production volume and cost discipline to match conventional manufacturing benchmarks for these parts. Buyers evaluating AM for aerospace hydraulic or thermal systems should note that Liebherr’s patents and in-house integration capability — not just the printer hardware — are what make this viable.