PRESS RELEASE: Marine-i event highlights exciting opportunities in composite materials
The Marine-i Discovery Room Event titled Composite materials – sector challenges and opportunities for innovation was held on 30th April at St Austell Conference Centre and attracted an audience of around 50 delegates.
Composite materials are playing an increasingly important
role in the marine industry. Being lightweight and durable, they score very
highly on efficiency measures. There are also new types of materials appearing
on the scene, such as new thermoplastics and self-healing composites.
The event was attended by a very broad cross-section of
regional businesses, from surfboard companies to advanced composite boat
builders and equipment manufactures. This demonstrates the wide range of
applications that these materials have in the marine industry.
Nigel Keen of the National Composites Centre gave the
keynote presentation, explaining the role of composites across different sectors
and the UK’s composite strategy.
Dr Derek Craig of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and
Dr Terence Macquart of the University of Bristol detailed the work being done
at the Wind Blades Research Hub. Leading edge erosion is often a problem for wind
turbine blades, and more advanced composites can help to address this.
Paul Dunstan of Fraser Nash Consultancy gave the audience
insights into some of the innovative work in this field currently being done by
UK companies.
Stephen Leonard-Williams of Composite Integration talked the
audience through the pioneering work they have done, which has made the company
a world leader in the control and optimisation of composite moulding processes.
Dr Rachel Nichols-Lee of Whiskerstay talked about the
benefits of composites in propeller design for electric and hybrid propulsion
systems for smaller craft. The use of composites here can help to reduce
vibration and create propellers that are easier to repair.
Casper Kruger of NOV (National Oilwell Varco) highlighted
their progress toward achieving a zero landfill policy for composites. Reducing
the size of waste ‘chunks’ had allowed 97% of waste to enter the Energy from
Waste scheme, rather than being sent to landfill.
Ian Falconer of Fishy Filaments explained how they have been
able to carry out 3D printing of micro composites, using waste carbon fibres
with nylon from recycled fishing nets – another great example of the innovative
thinking being adopted around recyclability.
Alex Whatley, Knowledge Exchange Manager at the University
of Plymouth and lead organiser for this event said:
“This was a really productive day that saw a great deal of
useful information and up to date insights being disseminated to the businesses
that attended. We hope this will play a valuable role in helping to shape their
innovation plans and highlighting the opportunities open to them in this
sector. The Marine-i team is very grateful to all the presenters who took part
in the day.
“During the day, there were many issues discussed around end
of life, recycling and waste management, and we are keen to explore these in more
depth. So we hope that this will lead to a further event focussed specifically around
these topics in the near future.
“If any Cornwall-based businesses are currently working on
innovations in the field of composite materials and are looking for support to
help develop, test and commercialise them, then they should speak to the expert
team at Marine-i.”