The NCC marks a further milestone in the development of a low carbon
economy. It will be an independent open-access national Centre to help
deliver world-class innovation in the design and manufacture of composites.
Located in the South West, it will act as a national resource and will
develop strong links with other manufacturing centres and composite
facilities across the UK.
The state-of-the-art Centre will be supported with £16m of public
sector investment comprising £12m from the Department of Business,
Innovation and Skills (the Strategic Investment Fund announced in the last
budget) and £4m from the South West RDA (Regional Development
Agency). Public sector investment will be supplemented with contributions
from some of the world's leading engineering companies.
Jim Knight, Regional Minister for the South West said: "The University, in
partnership with international partners, has already made great progress in
the development of new industries and technologies in the region. For
example the Composite Structures Development Centre which is part of
National Composites Network based in Airbus at Filton has already developed
cutting edge wing design for the international market.
"The region already has a high level skill base in the aerospace sector. By
offering the workforce increased training, through in-company training and
Train to Gain, we can achieve this exciting skills transfer through this
new centre.
"I fully support the region's high aspirations for our low carbon economy
and this new centre will go along way in developing and designing light
materials across a number of key sectors. This includes green technologies
and by bringing our universities and businesses together, the region will
continue to be a pathfinder in developing new composite materials in the
UK."
