Thursday 23 September 2010
Commencement of $65 million Composites Research Program in Australia
The 20th of August 2010 marked the first official meeting of the new Board of Directors for the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures (CRC-ACS), signalling the commencement of a five-year international research program based in Australia.
This extension of the highly successful CRC-ACS is supported by AUD 14 million from the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Program, and over AUD 50 million in cash and in-kind support from 28 participating organisations. A major feature of the extension is the high level of international participation: nine of the 28 participants are located outside Australia.
The CRC-ACS Extension Program will
- focus on international development of composites and related technology in Australia, using a highly successful collaborative research model
- facilitate the integration of Australian composites manufacturing, materials supply and engineering support enterprises into international value chains
- bring a range of new technologies to market, including breakthrough aircraft structure assembly technology, low-cost infrastructure repair, and sustainable plant-fibre biocomposites.
The 28 organisations that have joined CRC-ACS represent an impressive array of research institutions, materials suppliers, engineering service organisations and end-users. Additional organisations will be invited to join the research program, so that all relevant organisations to industrial implementation can build the necessary skills within the program. This “value chain” approach, and consequent opportunities for Australian Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to join international business opportunities, was a major reason for support from the Australian Government.
Rowan Gilmore, CEO of the Australian Institute for Commercialisation said that “the AIC looks forward to helping the CRC identify new SMEs wanting to apply the CRC’s research, which is world class and close to commercial deployment, as well as helpinng its researchers better understand commercialisation through the AIC Commercialisation Bootcamps”. He noted that the AIC is always interested in participating in other CRCs to help improve their commercialisation processes, and to extend their reach to SMEs working in all industry sectors.
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