Construction composites worth US$3.1bn in 2013
Lucintel has published a market report on the Opportunities for Composites in the European Construction Market 2008-2013: Trends, Forecast and Opportunity Analysis.
Reinforced Plastics Weekly, issue 276
http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/articles/construction/articles/090126_lucintel.html
Wind energy services to reach US$9.1bn by 2013
Lucintel has produced a report on Growth Opportunities in Wind Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Services Market 2008-2013.
Reinforced Plastics Weekly, issue 276
http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/articles/wind/articles/090123_lucintel.html
Beacon Power, National Grid to cooperate on flywheel technology
Beacon Power Corp (Tyngsboro, MA, USA) and National Grid (Westborough, MA, USA) have agreed to work together for two years to evaluate the use of the former's flywheel energy storage systems in electricity transmission. The flywheels, which are made using composite materials, may be used to temporarily store energy derived from wind and other renewable sources during low-demand or off-peak periods.
CompositesWorld.com Weekly, 27 Jan. 2009
http://www.compositesworld.com/
News in brief
Scientists at the GKSS Research Centre have developed a technique for joining plastics or plastic-metal hybrids without using adhesives or time consuming mechanical methods. FricRiveting involves applying high rotational speed and pressure to a metallic stud which penetrates both materials as the temperature rises and the pin of the rivet spreads out, securely fixing it within the objects. When used in a thermoplastic, the heat creates a thin layer of molten plastic which acts as an adhesive. The process avoids cracking and is said to be fast and secure.
Materials World, Jan. 2009, p.20
Glass fibre developed for medical device implants
HPMTM glass fibre
is a glass fibre developed by AGY (Aiken, South Carolina, USA) for medical implant applications. This fibre is compatible with a range of thermoplastic polymers and is suitable for long-term implant applications of over 30 days duration.
Reinforced Plastics Weekly issue 277
http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/articles/general/articles/090129_agy.html
US wind energy grew by nearly 8.4 GW in 2008
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) review of 2008 reports that wind power generating capacity in the USA grew by 50% during the year, and the country's total wind energy generating capacity is now close to 25.2GW. Prospects for 2009 are gloomy, with job losses and greatly reduced funding.
Reinforced Plastics Weekly issue 277
http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/articles/wind/articles/090202_awea.html
NMP-2009-2.5-1 Light high-performance composites
Technical content/scope: Novel light-weight high-performance composites, which enable a
significant decrease in weight whilst providing a top performance as compared to existing materials, or even a clear improvement in mechanical properties such as increased specific strength, specific stiffness, damage tolerance, ductility, creep and wear behavior and fracture toughness, are essential for innovation in the transport sector. Lighter but stronger transportation vehicles will be more economical and environment-friendly, by consuming less fuel and emitting less CO2. In some cases improved damping and enhanced crash/impact absorption capabilities, as well as embedded sensing and self-healing properties, are also sought.
Research should only target radical advances in new light-weight high performance composite materials (i.e. avoiding purely incremental improvements) and should be based on understanding the relationship between composition, processing, microstructure and properties, in particular using advanced engineering and modeling tools. Different types of light-weight composites relevant to the same application field (e.g. automotive, aerospace) can be studied together. Attention should also be paid to the life cycle analysis and to the cost-effectiveness of the new composite materials in comparison to the materials currently used.
Funding scheme: Large-scale integrating Collaborative Projects.
Special features: In order to ensure industrial relevance and impact of the research effort, the active participation of industrial partners represents an added value to the activities and this will be reflected in the evaluation and priority will be given to proposals showing a clear industrial leadership.
Expected impact: Clear benefit to the land transport, maritime and aeronautic sectors, as well as in moving components of large machinery, with regard to lower fuel consumption, increased competitiveness, protracted usage/life cycle with less consumption of resources, improved safety. Lower carbon dioxide emission in line with European policy objectives.
Further Information can be found at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CooperationDetailsCallPage&call_id=175
Deadline for initial application is 17th February 2009
NMP-2009-2.4-1 New biomass-based composite materials and their processing
Technical content/scope: Biomass, produced by nature or by biotechnology, can substitute fossil resources in the production of a variety of chemicals, fuels, and polymeric materials. Several biomass based products are already on the market, e.g. starch based packaging or biodegradable polymers in textiles. An important objective in biomass exploitation is to improve the processing of biomass-based materials, in order to tailor their properties and to optimise eco- and energy efficiency. In biomass-based composites the specific modulation of the (molecular) structure may give rise to new properties that are not characteristic of the original building blocks. Prime objectives for converting biomass into reinforcement elements for application in polymer-matrix composites include (i) the specific modulation of the molecular architectures of biomass and formation of structural hierarchies, to provide special functionalities, and self-assembly combined with easy processing, (ii) the development of melt compounding technologies based upon biomass (nano) fillers and fibres, and (iii) the exploration of novel processing technologies for production of biomass-based composites, bonded and non-woven structures.
Research should focus on the development of new commercially-viable thermoplastic and thermoset materials with high biomass content (i.e. above 90 % in weight). Hierarchic structures and nano structured biomass materials (nano hybrids) could be assembled by exploiting self assembly processes of biomass-based building blocks. Biomass based binders could also be developed to eliminate the need for formaldehyde-based thermoset resins in the processing of biomass-based fibre composites, papers, non-wovens and bioplastics. Attention should also be paid to the life cycle analysis, including industrial safety aspects, and to the cost-effectiveness of the new composite materials in comparison to the materials currently used, as well as to the recovery of any waste generated.
Funding scheme: SME-targeted Collaborative Projects.
Special features: SME dedicated Collaborative Projects are specifically designed to encourage SME participation in research and innovation representing the complete value added of the targeted sectors. In order to ensure industrial relevance and impact of the research effort, the active participation of industrial partners represents an added value to the activities and this will be reflected in the evaluation. In order to ensure an efficient implementation and maximum impact of SME-related activities, the following aspects will be evaluated under the criteria 'Implementation' and 'Impact':
- the leading role of SMEs with R&D capacities: the coordinator does not need to be an SME but the participating SMEs should have the decision making power in the project management and the output should be for the benefit of the participating SMEs and the targeted SME dominated industrial communities, and;
- level of SME involvement In addition to the evaluation criteria, please note that only proposals with an SME involvement of the order of 35% or more of the requested EC contribution will be selected.
Expected impact: A reduction of the dependence on fossil resources through the use of novel commercially-viable biomass based composites. These materials, with high biomass content, which are more environmentally friendly and bio-degradable, will provide lighter and stronger alternatives to fossil fuel based composites. An increase of the competitiveness of the European SME-based chemical industry due to large scale pilot production of advanced biomass-based composite materials using biomass-based building blocks.
Deadline for initial application is 17th February 2009
Further information can be found at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CooperationDetailsCallPage&call_id=177