In a bid to regain its share of the lucrative aerospace market, Alcoa Inc. said it has developed a lighter, crack- and corrosion-resistant aluminum that makes planes more fuel-efficient while requiring less maintenance.

Specifically, the aluminum maker is trying to beat out carbon-fiber companies for contracts to make single-aisle planes such as Boeing Co. 's next-generation 737, one of the most widely used planes in the world.

Alcoa lost out in the mid-2000s when Boeing switched from aluminum wings and aluminum fuselages—the skin covering the tube-shaped body of the plane—to more lightweight carbon-fiber composites for its twin-aisle 787s.

"Over the last 10 years, we have had a bit of a wake-up call," said Eric Roegner, president of Alcoa's Forgings and Extrusions business. "This is our focus, the next battlefield."

Preserving the high-profit-margin aerospace market is critical for Alcoa. About 15%, or $2.9 billion, of Alcoa's 2010 revenue of $21 billion came from the aerospace industry.