Loading ...Work will to continue at the Composites Innovation Centre (CIC) in Winnipeg, Canada. The non-profit organization is set to receive $11.6 million in government funding over the next four years for future composite projects and initiatives, including aerospace and renewable energy.
Sean McKay, CIC’s executive director, says the business proposal was based on what they felt the industry and customers required. These factors include research and development in manufacturing technologies for the aerospace industry as well as commercializing the use of natural fibers and bio-resins for composite applications and green building products. “It’s spread out over a number of project programs and products. The goal will be to produce those products commercially and provide a robust supply chain,” he says.
Among the initiatives boosted by the funding include the production of a new 20,000 square-foot facility as well as additional collaboration opportunities with local universities and technical colleges, who are able to provide a research and commercialization aspect to the activity. “We primarily work with development commercialization, so we rely on the schools for the research,” says McKay. “We’d like more work done internally and have it more integral to our operation.”
The funding will also go to other projects such as recycling components from both aerospace and ground transportation applications and utilizing them to minimize cracking and reduce shrinkage in concrete. “We’re working with number of companies on this effort and local colleges to test the materials. We’re also running business case model to ensure what we do is economically sustainable. We want to obtain consumers and manufacturers that would utilize this technology,” says McKay.
Regarding the recycling project, McKay says there have been similar efforts from others in this area previously, but they haven’t been economically sustainable or successful. “It costs too much to process materials, and when they’re utilized, they don’t provide a benefit to the product itself, and there can be a detriment to the product,” he says. So how will CIC’s work change that? “We’re running a number of development projects to produce the material in the right form coming out of the grinder, which will allow us to understand what it consists of. Then, we’ll be putting it into the product and testing it to confirm it works,” says McKay.
Among the other challenges going forward are finding some form of commonality with the various participants in terms of project selection and agreeing on how to manage intellectual property. McKay also remarks he wants CIC to be more of a sustainable entity, and they may have to modify their business plan moving forward to accommodate this desire. “We would be looking for more commitment from industry in terms of cash contributions. We’d also be engaging in larger initiatives with other government agencies to supplement the funding we get from the government.”
