Business Overview

TISICS is a company pioneering lighter, faster production rate spacecraft and aircraft components using world-leading metal composite technology.

TISICS are based in the UK, specifically at 22 Invincible Road, Farnborough. Stephen Kyle-Henney is the Managing Director and founder of TISICS, having led a management buyout of the technology from QinetiQ (formerly Kinetic) in 2005 with a team of colleagues. He has a long history covering all aspects of their technology, business, and customers, starting with a student placement at BP.

Their core mission involves transforming metals for a greener, brighter future by developing high-strength metal composite and innovative net-shape technology to deliver lighter components for greener and cheaper planes, spacecraft and industrial equipment. TISICS aims to solve some of the world's toughest engineering challenges by leading a new class of materials and manufacturing technologies. They see themselves as being at the top end of materials technology, looking to make a real difference. As a nation, the UK has an ambitious target of Net Zero emissions by 2050, which will require lighter aircraft and cars, and TISICS technology aims to contribute significantly to this goal.

Products and Technology

TISICS specialises in ultra lightweight materials, making a metal composite reinforced with their own proprietary ceramic fibre. This technology takes the best of lightweight metals like aluminium and titanium, and combines them with the best ceramic, silicon carbide, to achieve more than the sum of the parts.

• They put very high strength ceramic fibres into a very high strength titanium alloy.
• Combining the two materials effectively means they can make a part half the weight of steel while being as strong as steel. This is described as "the best of both worlds" in engineering terms.
• The core benefit of their metal matrix composites is the significant weight savings, ranging from 30% to 70%. For example, doubling the stiffness of titanium means a part can be made half the weight. TISICS states their technology delivers up to 70% component weight savings.
• A notable example of their technology is a small tube that weighs about the same as a packet of crisps but is capable of carrying a 5-ton African elephant. The sources state that the UK is the only country that makes this technology.
• They also use their technology to produce net shape additive parts to reduce waste and make complex, difficult-to-machine titanium and aluminium parts. This process allows them to take small pieces of metal and bond them together into a solid with the composite integrated, keeping 95% of the material in the final component, compared to traditional manufacturing where 90% might be machined away.
• TISICS metal composites are selectively reinforced to optimise cost, performance, and mass, allowing strength to be added where it is needed.

Target Sectors and Applications

TISICS targets a range of sectors where lightweight, high-performance materials are critical:

• Space: Short lead time, fast production rate pressure vessels and spacecraft structures, as well as components for the next generation of satellites. A space tank for small satellites is mentioned as a fully qualified product they are working towards with investment.
• Aerospace: Lightweight landing gear, structural components, aero-engine component development, and actuated parts. Applying their technology to landing gear on existing aircraft fleets is seen as a potential way to save significant CO2 emissions.
• Industrial: Highly durable, corrosion-resistant structures for electrification, renewables, and potentially engine and wind components.
• Defence.
• Energy sector.
• A small amount of activity in automotive.
• Robotics.