What Leichtwerk AG does

Leichtwerk AG is a privately held German aerospace engineering company headquartered in Braunschweig that provides end-to-end aircraft design, development, and certification services, anchored by an EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA 21J.332) and a 2,400 sqm production floor with prototyping and flight-test capabilities. Its core products include the eta — the world's largest fully certified high-performance glider, now operated as an instrumented research aircraft — and the hydrogen-powered HAPS StratoStreamer, a High-Altitude Platform Station under prototype production aimed at providing area-wide nomadic LTE/5G/6G connectivity to up to 100,000 households per aircraft. Underlying the offering is a suite of proprietary engineering IP, including the BAFF code for fiber-reinforced wing analysis and validated in-house tools for composites, bondings, and metallic structures under static and fatigue loads.

The company generates revenue through contracted planning, documentation, development, and design services sold under BGB §§631 ff. work-and-services agreements, with pricing structured as fixed price, guide price, or hourly rates and billed in three installments over project lifecycles. Customer-facing segments include aviation and aerospace primes, telecommunications operators evaluating HAPS integration, transportation and energy buyers of lightweight structure technology, and research institutions; distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales, supported by a website and technical white papers. The firm has two affiliated companies — Leichtwerk Research GmbH (spin-off focused on next-generation aircraft design research) and SFL GmbH (solar-powered flight and unmanned air systems) — and filed for insolvency proceedings in August 2024, a material risk that must be weighed against the technical depth of the underlying business.

Name

Leichtwerk AG

Legal name

Leichtwerk AG

Website

https://leichtwerk.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Leichtwerk AG is a German EASA-certified aerospace engineering firm in Braunschweig providing aircraft design, certification, and ultra-lightweight composite prototyping, best known for the eta research glider and the hydrogen-powered HAPS StratoStreamer connectivity platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Engineering Services

NAICS

Aircraft Manufacturing (336411), Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336413)

SIC

Aircraft & Parts (3720), Aircraft (3721), Aircraft Parts & Auxiliary Equipment, Nec (3728)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) & Multirotor Drones (IMABAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nacelles, Fairings & Aerodynamic Structures (IMABAEAE)

Keywords

• Aerospace engineering services
• Aircraft design
• High-altitude platforms
• Lightweight structures
• Wind tunnel models

Headquarters

HQ city

Braunschweig

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Aircraft Design and Development Services: Contracted planning, documentation, development and design tasks for clients. Pricing may be agreed as binding fixed price, guide price, or hourly rate. Billed in thirds: one third upon order confirmation, one third upon completion of relevant section, one third following acceptance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Leichtwerk AG develops technologies and products for lightweight structures with a focus on aircraft design, wind turbines, high-speed trains, automobiles, and research facilities. The company offers contracted aircraft design and development services from configuration design through certification, including proprietary in-house tools for composites and metallic structures, electric and hydrogen propulsion development, aeroelastic analysis, flight testing, and EASA-certified certification processes under DOA 21J.332. Core products include the eta research glider, the HAPS StratoStreamer high-altitude platform station, solar-powered HAPS platforms, and custom wind tunnel models.

Product overview

Leichtwerk AG develops technologies and products for lightweight structures with a focus on aircraft design, including the eta glider (world's largest certified high-performance sailplane), HAPS StratoStreamer (hydrogen-powered high-altitude platform stations for communications), and solar-powered HAPS platforms. The company also offers wind tunnel models, proprietary analysis tools like BAFF code, prototyping, flight testing, and engineering services for aerospace applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• StratoStreamer: Hydrogen powered High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) with high communication capacity to serve up to 100,000 households per aircraft and provide nomadic mobile LTE/5G/6G communication.
• eta Research Aircraft

Products and services

• eta Research Aircraft The eta is the world's largest fully certified high-performance glider, developed by Leichtwerk AG over 20 years and now operated as an instrumented research aircraft for advancing lightweight structure technologies. It is available to research institutions and aerospace clients requiring a unique elastic-aircraft test platform.
• HAPS StratoStreamer Hydrogen-powered High-Altitude Platform Station designed to provide communication capacity for up to 100,000 households per aircraft while delivering nomadic mobile LTE/5G/6G connectivity for area-wide coverage surpassing current LEO satellite capabilities. Targeted at telecom operators and connectivity providers seeking stratospheric broadband solutions.
• Solar Powered HAPS Platform Solar-powered high-altitude platform for communication applications, currently in conceptual design phase at Leichtwerk AG. Aimed at delivering sustainable stratospheric connectivity for telecommunications operators.
• Wind Tunnel Models Custom-tailored wind tunnel models representing aerodynamic and structural characteristics, delivered to wind tunnels worldwide for over 20 years. Sold to research institutions, aerospace OEMs, and wind tunnel operators for testing campaigns.
• Aircraft Design and Development Services Contracted planning, documentation, development, and design tasks covering the full aircraft design process from configuration design through certification. Services include aeroelastic analysis, load analysis, structural design, electric and hydrogen propulsion development, prototyping, and flight testing under EASA DOA 21J.332. Delivered to aviation, aerospace, transportation, energy, and research clients under work and services agreements per German Civil Code Articles 631 ff.

Quantifiable outcome

• HAPS StratoStreamer communication capacity: up to 100,000 households per aircraft
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Leichtwerk Research GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-off company that feeds mature aircraft design processes with new technology, providing access to cutting edge research.
• SFL GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany that pioneered solar powered flight for more than 20 years with vast experiences in multi-disciplinary design and certification of light aircraft and unmanned air systems.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Deutsche Aircraft: Deutsche Aircraft, based in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, develops the D328eco regional turboprop with composite-intensive airframe design. It is a regional peer comparable to Leichtwerk in German aerospace composite airframe development, though operating at a larger scale.

Direct peers

• Pipistrel (Textron): Pipistrel, acquired by Textron, is a leading manufacturer of light and ultralight aircraft including the Velis Electro, the first type-certified electric airplane. It is comparable to Leichtwerk in developing lightweight, certifiable composite aircraft with electric propulsion.
• Bye Aerospace: Bye Aerospace designs and develops all-electric fixed-wing aircraft, including the eFlyer family of FAA-certified trainers. It competes with Leichtwerk in lightweight electric aircraft design, composite airframe development, and EASA/FAA certification processes.
• Sceye: Sceye is a US-based HAPS developer using stratospheric platforms for broadband connectivity and earth observation. It is a direct peer to Leichtwerk's StratoStreamer in the HAPS communications market, both pursuing area-wide connectivity beyond terrestrial and LEO networks.
• SFL GmbH: SFL GmbH, listed as a related/partner company of Leichtwerk, pioneered solar powered flight with 20+ years of experience in multi-disciplinary design and certification of light aircraft and unmanned air systems. It is a direct peer in lightweight solar UAS design and certification, with deep operational overlap.
• HAPSMobile (SoftBank): HAPSMobile, a SoftBank-backed joint venture with AeroVironment, developed the Sunglider HAPS for stratospheric telecom applications. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Leichtwerk's StratoStreamer, both targeting nomadic 5G/LTE connectivity from the stratosphere.

Broad incumbents

• BAE Systems (PHASA-35): BAE Systems develops the PHASA-35 High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft, a direct competitor to Leichtwerk's HAPS StratoStreamer. As a global defense prime, BAE brings vastly greater capital, certification expertise, and customer relationships in military HAPS applications.
• AeroVironment: AeroVironment is a leading US small UAS manufacturer with broad defense and commercial customers and significant HAPS exposure via its HAPSMobile partnership. It competes with Leichtwerk in lightweight UAS design, prototyping, and flight testing capabilities.
• Airbus (Zephyr programme): Airbus operates the Zephyr high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) programme and is a broad incumbent in the aerospace industry. Zephyr is the most direct competitor to Leichtwerk's HAPS StratoStreamer, with significantly larger resources, established defense/telecom relationships, and proven flight heritage.

Emerging players

• Eviation Aircraft: Eviation develops the Alice, an all-electric commuter aircraft with composite airframe construction. It is comparable to Leichtwerk as an emerging player in electric aircraft design, lightweight composite structures, and novel aircraft certification pathways.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leichtwerk-ag

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leichtwerk AG