The aerospace centre will allow companies to develop new materials such as lightweight carbon fibre for use in planes, jet engines and civil helicopters. The 3D printing centre will develop new products for aero-engines and aircraft landing gear, as well as automotive and medical devices.
Speaking at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry where the two facilities are based, the Minister said: "It is important that we continue to invest in R&D and develop ground-breaking technologies."
The four projects, which are jointly funded by industry and government include £7.2million funding for Airbus to research ways to develop a 'slippery' wing by removing imperfections on wing surfaces which cause drag; £5m for five partners, led by Meggitt, to research how pioneering technologies, such as the IoT, can be applied to aircraft factory production; £6.4m for Spirit AeroSystems, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Aeromet to research advanced automated assembly technologies to improve the cost competitiveness of the UK supply chain; and £4.4m to support UTC Aerospace Systems, working with the AMRC, to set up production lines to manufacture high volume, low cost advanced composite products.
The minister also announced the launch of a £10m competition being run by Innovate UK, aimed at small firms, to find game-changing aerospace technologies. Innovate UK is looking for participants from inside and outside the aerospace sector including universities to undertake research and development and feasibility studies into the commercialisation of innovative technologies for civil aerospace. The competition opens on 29th June; deadline for registration is 9th September.
This competition is being launched due to projected global orders for aircraft. "Around 45,000 new aircraft and 40,000 helicopters are needed between now and 2032, worth over $5trillion. This will provide billions of pounds of work to the UK economy given our leading capability in wings, engines, helicopters, advanced systems and services," Soubry said: "Getting this right will deliver economic benefit through our large, mid-sized and small companies across the breadth of the country."
Chief executive of the Aerospace Technology Institute, Gary Elliott said: "Seeing the Aerospace Research Centre open and the launch of projects involving companies from within the heart of the supply chain are good examples of the collaboration between Government and industry creating a more competitive sector of enriched capabilities and increased productivity."
