New initiatives to support the development of composite
materials have been announced today and East Midlands Development
Agency (emda) is urging companies to take advantage of the
increasing range of opportunities in this growing sector.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson launched a UK Composites
Strategy outlining the Government's support for British firms
involved in manufacturing, with the aim of maintaining the UK's
global lead in this growth field.
It is estimated that the high-value composites market is
currently worth about £1 billion to the British economy. The
UK offshore composite wind turbine blade and aerospace wing market
alone could be worth £22 billion by 2020 - highlighting
composites' low carbon credentials.
At their simplest level, composites are made from at least two
materials that together produce a product with much improved
properties. Composites are increasingly used for their lightweight,
super strength properties in applications as diverse as racing
cars, yachts, aircraft and wind turbine blades.
In the East Midlands, there is significant expertise in
composites technology, based mainly around transport technologies
(aerospace, automotive, rail and marine) with businesses such as
Rolls Royce, Advanced Composites Group and others, leading the way
in this sector.
The region also boasts renowned centres of excellence such as
University of Nottingham's Institute for Materials Technology and
Loughborough University's Institute of Polymer Technology and
Materials Engineering. The recently-launched emda-supported
national Manufacturing Technology Centre which is being created in
Ansty will soon add to this expertise and further support UK
manufacturing competitiveness.
Lord Mandelson also announced an investment of £22 million
to support the composites sector. This includes £5 million
for businesses to develop new composites manufacturing techniques,
(to be won via the Technology Strategy Board's new 'Grand
Challenge' competition), and £1m upfront funding to help
develop bids for this. A further £16 million is being used to
establish a new National Composites Centre which will be situated
in the south west of England.
In addition, England's Regional Development Agencies (RDAs),
including emda, have committed to spend an additional
£500,000 for a new national supply chain initiative for the
industry to support development of capability and ensure sustained
competitiveness of UK manufacturing. This complements at least
£28m already being invested by RDAs across the regions over
this period, as well as the role played by business support
programmes such as the Manufacturing Advisory Service, to help
manufacturing businesses to identify and deploy best practice
technology.
Speaking about the launch of the new Composites Strategy, Bryan
Jackson, Chairman of emda, which also leads on manufacturing policy
for the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), said: "The RDAs
welcome the launch of this Composites Strategy. We recognise the
significance of composites as a manufacturing sector, and the
increasingly important role it will play in the future.
"On a regional level, I know that all RDAs are working hard to
increase the competitiveness of our manufacturers. The growth in
demand for strong, light composite solutions in a range of
applications offers exciting new opportunities for manufacturing
businesses throughout the supply chain."