8 million euros for research on light and sustainable materials

Grant and private funds for Thermoplastic Composites Research Centre (TPRC)

11 March 2010 

The Dutch province of Overijssel, Twente region and the European Regional Development Fund Tuesday announced the allocation of a four million euro grant to the Thermoplastic Composites Research Centre (TPRC). The grant comes from the Innovation incentive ‘GO Gebundelde Innovatiekracht’ and was supported by the Innovation Platform Twente, Kennispark Twente and Oost NV. Supplemented by private funds provided by the TPRC members, the research budget will reach a total of over eight million euros. The budget will be used for material research, to expand the TPRC Community of partners and to carry out research while creating around ten PhD positions at the University of Twente. The TPRC is an initiative of TenCate, Boeing, the University of Twente and others.

The material research at the TPRC is aimed at developing lighter and sustainable thermoplastic products. In addition, new manufacturing and assembly processes are examined that are cost efficient and offer environmental benefits. A key thrust of the centre is the increasing use of thermoplastic materials in the aerospace industry as customers demand more, with focus on having lighter, cost effective and sustainable products. In order to meet these demands, the aerospace industry and several other industries are looking for innovative solutions to develop the technology for thermoplastic composites.

The TPRC community primarily focuses on the expansion of new members for research, both nationally and internationally, with special emphasis on subject matter experts. Since the establishment of the research centre last year, more than 50 companies have expressed interest. Besides the aviation industry, these companies come from diverse areas such as renewable energy, mechanical engineering and materials development. Furthermore, the TPRC community focuses on sharing and disseminating knowledge on thermoplastic composites, by organizing conferences, training and courses for students, researchers and the industry.

More information on TPRC: www.tprc.nl

Contact: Eduard Pupupin , phone +31534894535