SE Summit Paris 2026
Location: Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel Hotel
Date: 9 March 2026
Monday 9 March 2026 – the day before the JEC World Paris opens its doors – SAMPE Europe will hold its Executive Summit. The location is the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel Hotel, just aside the Eiffel Tower.
Theme
”Challenges towards a Sustainable Future.”
Programme
The Program of this Summit consists of a range of 12 high-level lectures by invited speakers only.
The preliminary program consists of 4 Blocks:
- A. Materials and Processes
- B. Sustainability and Recycling
- C. Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence
- D. Aerospace and Space
High-ranked speakers are from China, Japan, USA, and Europe. Attendees are managers of CEO and CTO level in leading companies, engineers, scientists, and professionals from throughout the advanced materials and processes industry and universities.
The conference day starts at 9 AM and ends with a networking cocktail in the Pullman with outside a magnificent view on the Eiffel Tower. It is an outstanding occasion for networking with interesting colleagues and meeting new contacts.
It’s an outstanding occasion for networking and meeting new contacts. Both members and non-members of SAMPE, as well as Master and Ph.D. students are invited to participate.
A long-term partnership between SAMPE Europe and JEC Group has been established in order to bring the highest benefit of composite materials to our members.
As part of this, JEC Group offers all Summit delegates free admission to JEC World 2026 Paris.
SAMPE Europe Summit Paris 2026 in the Pullman Tour Eiffel Hotel: A must for everyone visiting the JEC World 2026!
Preliminary Program Summit 26
- 9.00 – 10.00 Registration
- 9.45 Opening by Arnt Offringa, Summit Chair
Welcome by Prof. Conchúr Ó’Bradaigh, President SAMPE Europe & Éric Pierrejean, President JEC World and Mainsponsor Summit 26 - 10.00 – 11.00 Block A – Materials & Processes – 2 presentations
Session Chair: Prof. Alfonso Maffezzoli, University of Salento, Italy - 11.00 – 11.30 Coffee Break
- 11.30 – 13.00 Block B – Sustainability and Recycling – 3 presentations
Session Chair: Tamara Blanco Varela, Airbus, Spain - 13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
- 14.00 – 16.00 Block C – Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence – 3 presentations
Session Chair: Prof. Mikko Kanerva, Tampere University, Finland - 15.30 – 16.00 Tea Break
- 16.00 – 17.30 Block D – Aerospace & Space – 3 presentations
Session Chair: Marc Fette, CTC, Germany - 17.30 Closure by Arnt Offringa, Summit Chair
- 17.45 – 19.00 Network Cocktail
Tickets
Early bird ticket sales start on Monday, 1 December 2025.
Early Bird tickets
- Professional Members – € 600,00
- Professional Non-members – One-year Free Trial Membership included – € 700,00
- Master and PhD Student Members – € 300,00
- Master and PhD Students Non-members – One-year Free Trial Membership included – € 350,00
Regular tickets
- Professional Members – € 650,00
- Professional Non-members – One-year Free Trial Membership included – € 750,00
- Master and PhD Student Members – € 325,00
- Master and PhD Students Non-members – One-year Free Trial Membership included – € 375,00
Options marked with ‘FREE Trial Membership’ include one year free SAMPE Membership.
Speakers
Block A – Materials and Processes
Kim Sjödahl
Exel Composites, Finland
“Winding up for growth.”
Kim is Senior Vice President, Technology and Sustainability at Exel Composites.
The company established itself as a leading manufacturer of sporting goods for Nordic sports, including ski poles that achieved notable success at Olympic Games and World Championships, as well as floorball, hockey sticks and windsurfing masts. Drawing on its expertise in high-performance tubular products, the company specializing in advanced solutions through its proprietary pullwinding technology.
The focus is on sustainability, prioritizing the development of technologies and products designed for extended life cycles, reduced environmental impact and circularity. They provide composite applications across various industries such as aerospace, automotive and construction. New applications include rigid frame airships, demanding lightweight high performance carbon fiber tubes, developed together with the customer.
Toshihira Irisawa
Gifu University, Japan
“Pathways towards sustainable and economically viable carbon fiber production.”
Dr. Irisawa is Associate Professor and researcher at Gifu University, specializing in fibers, carbon materials, composites, and polymers.
Worldwide, intensive efforts have been devoted to the development of low-cost carbon fibers, exploring various alternative raw materials and processing routes. However, to date, the commercial production of carbon fibers derived from precursors other than polyacrylonitrile (PAN) has not yet been fully realized.
In Japan, research and development on carbon fibers based on innovative processes with significantly reduced energy consumption has been conducted since 2011. From 2020 onward, these technologies have been further advanced and integrated into programs targeting the development of low-cost and sustainable carbon fibers. These initiatives emphasize process innovation, energy efficiency, and close collaboration between academia, industry, and national research institutes.
This presentation reviews the historical background of low-cost carbon fiber development in Japan and highlights recent progress achieved through these innovative processes. Current research outcomes, remaining technical challenges, and future prospects for industrial implementation are also discussed, with a focus on pathways toward sustainable and economically viable carbon fiber production.
Block B – Sustainability and Recycling
Pierre Rouch
KVE by Daher, Netherlands
Dominique Bailly
Daher, France
“Composites: a sustainable solution to face next generation aircrafts challenges!”
Pierre is Senior expert for thermoplastics & Advanced chief engineer technology office at Daher & Managing Director at KVE by Daher. Dominique is Innovation Director at Daher.
Dominique is the Head of Research and Technology of the Daher Group, who leads and directs upstream research on emerging technologies for all the Group’s activities. He also directs the Shap’In technical center dedicated to composite materials and processes.
Daher has been forged by logistical challenges and has, throughout its history, made a proactive contribution to successive industrial revolutions by developing a breadth of expertise that spans shipping, lifting, transportation and logistics. Today, it designs and operates logistics services for the aerospace and advanced technology industries. In terms of manufacturing, its involvement dates back to 1911 and the pioneering plane maker Morane-Saulnier. Its current TBM range of single-engine turboprop aircraft makes Daher the world’s oldest aircraft manufacturer still in operation.
Allan Korsgaard Poulsen
Vestas, Denmark
“Composite Solutions for Wind Energy: Balancing Sustainability, Cost, and Manufacturing methods.”
Allan is Head of Advanced Structures and Sustainability at Vestas Wind Systems.
Wind turbine blades are among the largest composite structures manufactured globally in a larger number, with lengths exceeding 100 meters and incorporating complex geometries. Current production methods rely heavily on manual lay-up of glass and carbon fiber reinforcements combined with thermoset resin infusion systems, resulting in high labor intensity, variability in quality, and significant material waste. As the industry scales to meet global renewable energy targets, reducing the environmental impact from the blade life cycle while improving manufacturing process efficiency and blade durability has become a critical challenge.
The presentation will outline the challenges on balancing sustainability, cost and manufacturing for blade manufacturing in the wind turbine industry. It will provide the status of a promising chemcycling technology enabling blade circularity, and touch upon how collaborative innovation across material science and process engineering can unlock the next generation of wind turbine blades – structures that are not only larger and more efficient but also produced with a significantly reduced environmental impact.
Alexander Knorr
Elbe Flugwerke, Germany
“Perspectives on Circularity Beyond pure Technology Aspects for EoL Parts.”
Since 2007 Alexander works for Elbe Flugzeugwerke in various positions. He started as Team Leader Research and Development and is Chief Technology Officer -R&D since September 2022.
This presentation put the spotlight on completed and ongoing project activities (e.g. EuReComp) with example scenarios illustrates the complex multidimensionality.
Challenges and regulatory gaps are highlighted in the case of EoL components that were manufactured years or decades ago and have had an eventful product life cycle.
In the context of circular economy (and specifically regarding EoL components or materials, whether from MRO processes, aircraft conversion, or other sources) the pure technological perspective often focuses on the short-term.
Which remanufacturing processes, which recycling technologies, etc. can be applied or need to be developed?
However, there are multiple aspects that are often not considered. What about documentation, customs, export control, local and international regulations…?
Block C – Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence
Frank Hashagen
Airbus, Germany
“The Composite Evolution: Scaling CFRP for Sustainable High-Rate Aircraft Production.”
Frank Hashagen is Head of Engineering at Airbus Hamburg. Frank brings a robust background in Aerospace Engineering, holding both a Master’s (1993, University of Stuttgart) and a PhD from TU Delft in the field, complemented by a Master’s in Business Administration. He has amassed extensive international experience across all Airbus programs, specializing in airframe engineering functions including Stress, Fatigue and Damage Tolerance, Design, and Electrical/Mechanical Systems Installation and Aircraft Architecture. His leadership roles have spanned Airframe Architecture and R&T, Component design, and Quality Engineering. Currently, Dr. Frank Hashagen serves as the Vice President, Head of the Airframe Competence Centre, leading a transnational organization of over 1100 engineers. Outside of his professional life, Frank is an avid glider pilot and enjoys outdoor pursuits such as skiing and running.
This presentation outlines the strategic importance of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) as a core enabler for aviation’s decarbonization goals, targeting a significant reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2035.
The evolution of composite use, which has grown from 5% to over 50% in modern aircraft like the A350, has set a high-performance industry benchmark. Future development is centered on advanced CFRP applications, including thermoset, thermoplastic, and dry-fiber solutions, focusing on “one-shot” curing and high integration to reduce parts count and weight. Key technological advancements include near-isothermal RTM processes and high-rate deposition production.
Next to digital enablers like Hybrid Certification many supporting technologies like NDT and Predictive Quality capabilities need to be developed. The roadmap to 2050 is underpinned by the three pillars of Sustainability, Cost/Performance, and Industrial Readiness, requiring a robust, multi-sourced supply chain, enhanced material standardization, and a critical focus on achieving 100% composite material waste recycling and introducing bio-sourced resins and fibers. The industry actively seeks partners to achieve a performance enhancement while maintaining aerospace-grade safety, quality and reliability.
Fahrettin Öztürk
Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI), Turkey
“Manufacturing of Composite Parts in Aerospace Industries.”
Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Öztürk holds the position of Executive Vice President at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). As Head of Aerostructures at TAI, Professor Öztürk is responsible for the production of all original and commercial aerospace programs within the company.
This presentation provides a comprehensive review of the evolution, manufacturing methods, and applications of composite materials in aerospace engineering. Emerging research directions, including multifunctional composites, hybrid material systems, and additive manufacturing integration, are explored to illustrate the future landscape of composite manufacturing in the aerospace sector.
Avner Ben-Bassat
Plataine, USA
“AI and Industrial Digitalization in the Field of Composites.”
Avner Ben-Bassat is the President & CEO of Plataine, a leading provider of Industrial IoT and AI-powered optimization solutions for complex manufacturing environments.
In this session Avnar will present real industrial outcomes demonstrating how AI-driven digitalization improves performance in composites manufacturing, including: Automation of production, Sustainability gains and Material efficiency.
Real-world case studies, such as autoclave utilization rising from 60% to 95% and lead-time reductions from 60 to 28 days, underscore that AI-based industrial digitalization is no longer experimental. It is a production-grade, validated approach accelerating efficiency, resilience, and growth across the composites industry.
Block D – Aerospace and Space
Arnt Offringa
GKN Fokker, Netherlands
“Aerospace in Transition.”
Arnt Offringa is responsible for GKN Aerospace’s Global Technology Centre Netherlands. This R&T lab is centered in Hoogeveen, with a strong focus on thermoplastic composites and new initiatives in the field of thermoplastic composites.
Reducing weight is of paramount importance for aircraft and space vehicles. This is all the more so since replacing fossil fuels by more sustainable alternatives requires considerable effort and time. Therefore, applying low weight carbon composite materials, while also keeping cost in check and achieving high rate production, is the main challenge in the near future. Innovative manufacturing technologies such as vacuum infusion, stamp forming, press consolidation and welding offer a path forward. The Dutch Aviation in Transition project is a project that addresses this challenge, through the development of new materials, concepts, manufacturing technologies and demonstrator products.
Fulvio Romano
Italian Aerospace Research Centre, Italy
“Innovative design criteria and approaches for aircraft composite structures.”
Fulvio is member of the Research and Experimentation Infrastructure Directorate, as head of the Technical and Management Support Unit. As such manager of many projects concerning the development of innovative methodologies and technologies for the structural integrity and manufacturing of airframe structures, in particular with composite and advanced composite materials.
This presentation examines innovative and emerging design approaches, methods, and techniques aimed at overcoming the persistent conservatism that often continues to surround composite materials, a conservatism that still limits the full exploitation of their potential in terms of further weight reduction and lower maintenance and operating costs.
Markus Quadt
ArianeGroup, Germany
“Cryogenic Composite Tank Technology in Europe for Aerospace Applications – Current status and outlook.”
Markus Quadt is working at ArianeGroup in Bremen on future upper stage concepts for orbital class launch vehicles within ArianeGroup’s Technical Directorate.
The talk gives an overview about the status and outlook of cryogenic compositetank technologies for aerospace applications in Europe. Cryogenic composite storage tanks are currently under development for mobile applications like cars and trucks, manned and unmanned aircrafts as well as space launch vehicles and space exploration vehicles. The list of suitable composite materials has significantly increased in the past five years and besides the classical thermoset matrix composites, high-end thermoplastic matrix composites are now available on the market in excellent aerospace quality, paving the way to a very cost-efficient ways of manufacturing, especially for cryogenic composite tanks assembly. The implementation of full-composite design concepts for cryogenic liquid propellant tanks is an innovative way to achieve both aspects, the mass reduction and the manufacturing cost reduction in parallel to enable hydrogen propulsion in mobile, aircraft and space applications.
Main Sponsor Summit
Partners 2026
Network Partners
Location
Pullman Eiffel Tower is easy to reach by train or Metro
How to reach:
From all destinations within Paris:
- RER Train Line C – Station Champ de Mars Tour Eifel
- METRO Line 6 – Station Bir Hakeim.
From Paris Airport – Charles de Gaulle: Take the RER B in the direction of Robinson/Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuses. Change at Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame and take the RER C, in the direction of Versailles/Saint- Quentin in Yvelines/ Pontoise/Argenteuil. Get of at the Champs de Mars/Tour Eifel station.
