Led by the Universities of Nottingham and Bristol, the Hub is a £10.3m investment by the EPSRC to engage academics from across the UK to deliver a step-change in the production of polymer matrix composites. The Hub is supported by four High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centres and backed by 18 industrial partners from the composites sector, offering a further £12.7m in additional support.
The partnership will see Bitrez - which holds the Queen’s Award for Innovation – collaborating with academic and industrial partners to support the development and delivery of the next generation of high performance, affordable composites, which meet both regulatory and sustainability demands.
Based in Standish, Wigan, Bitrez manufactures synthetic resin, catalysts and curing agents for a variety of world class companies across the globe in aerospace, rail, automotive, oil and gas, nuclear and renewable energy.
Paul Jones, managing director at Bitrez (pictured on the right), said: “We’re delighted to join the Hub as an industrial partner and look forward to collaborating with the other members to help secure the UK’s long-term position as a leader in composites manufacturing. Our extensive product portfolio includes high performance epoxy, epoxy vinyl ester and phenolic polymers, providing individual ‘building blocks’ or custom formulated systems. In addition, our wide range of complimentary curatives, catalysts and functional additives can be tailored to very specific requirements. Our formulated materials are already used in the development and manufacture of prepreg, so we are well placed to support the demands of projects coming out of the Hub.”
Prof Nick Warrior, director of the EPSRC Future Composites Manufacturing Research Hub (pictured left), said: “This is a great opportunity for the Hub and its partners. Bitrez are renowned for being R&D focused and can respond quickly to our research needs. We look forward to working with Paul and his team over the next four years to address the resin research challenges identified by the Hub.”
