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This snapshot, taken on 08/01/2008, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search boxes may not work in archived websites.
The materials technology strategy is aimed at delivering new materials and processes over the coming years to secure the future of a £200bn industry that directly employs 1.5m people and supports over four million jobs in the UK. The technology priorities in the area are crucial to the revival of UK manufacturing and to sustaining innovation in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, security, healthcare, oil and gas, electronics and retail.
The UK has particular strengths in traditional materials such as metals, concrete, structural ceramics, wood, polymers, glass and industrial minerals, and also enjoys world class levels of competence in the newer areas of composites, engineering, ceramics, technical textiles and electronic and bio-materials. Meanwhile UK research, standards and metrology institutions have a similarly high reputation for their success in the generation of knowledge and understanding across a wide range of materials.
But materials-related research and application-driven exploitation is often high risk and lacks easily identifiable funding streams, putting the UK at a serious disadvantage compared to its major competitors in the core task of getting new technologies to market. Appropriate Government funding can play a vital role in ensuring that the associated IPR, technology and industry stays in the UK thereby creating new markets, wealth and future employment.
In April 2004, the Technology Programme provided £4.7m of funding for the National Composites Network which generated £30m from the Regional Development Agencies and industry. In the same year the Advanced Materials Forum was developed to provide access to relevant news and information to an interactive virtual community. This has now been extended to form the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network, embracing five materials Faraday Partnerships, the National Composites Network, new nodes for Smart Materials, Surfaces and Structures and the National Metals Technology Centre (NAMTEC)
Competitions in Collaborative R&D |
| April 2004: Succeeding through innovation: Advanced composite materials and structures | To develop a coherent and cost-efficient high value-adding UK supply chain (£5m DTI grant / £345k EPSRC/ Total project cost: £12m) |
| November 2004: Succeeding through innovation: smart materials and related structures | To develop products with intelligent functional properties for a high value-adding economy (£7m DTI grant / Total Project cost: £17.5m) |
| April 2005: Advanced materials: high performance in extreme and hostile environments | Reliable and effective use of materials under severe operational conditions (Indicative budget: £10m DTI grant / £256k EPSRC / Total project cost: £23m) |
| Autumn 2005: Succeeding through innovation: materials modelling: collaborative research and development. | Application of modelling techniques to predict material properties during during manufacturing and in-service performance (Indicative budget: £10m DTI grant. (MOD interested) |
Successful Collaborative R&D Projects:
April 2004 - Advanced Composite Materials and Structures
November 2004 - Smart Materials and Structures