The HVM Catapult composites engineering roadmap engaged over 100 industry experts. Here’s where it identified the biggest challenges – and what’s already being done to address them.
By Matt Scott, Chair of the Composites Technology Special Purpose Group at High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and Chief Technologist – Processes at NCC.
Last week, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult) launched its Technology Strategy. It’s a direction‑setting framework, designed to align HVM Catapult centres and the UK’s innovation ecosystem around the technologies set to deliver the Modern Industrial Strategy.
This new strategy compliments those produced by Innovate UK, Aerospace Technology Institute, Advanced Propulsion Centre, and our own NCC Technology Strategy.
Each provides a different lens to achieving the same goal. Together, they give the whole ecosystem sight of collaboration opportunities, potential areas of overlap, or where key pieces of the puzzle might be missing.
At HVM Catapult, we take a technology-enabled approach, with the UK supply chain as a key stakeholder and our innovation centres acting as the delivery vehicles. The strategy strikes a balance: broad and sector-agnostic, but with goals specific enough to deliver against.
A roadmap for composites
Composites Engineering is one of six key manufacturing and process technologies identified in the strategy, each with their own roadmap.
With the help of Composites UK, we stress tested the Composites Engineering roadmap with over 80 UK-based businesses and organisations. The conversations were robust: our initial thinking was challenged, supplemented and validated in equal measure.
The UK starts from a position of strength when it comes to composites engineering, but there are critical capability gaps we need to fill. The strategy identifies eleven in total: from tooling systems, to digitally-enabled design methods, and accelerated testing & assurance.
However there are three which must be prioritised for the UK to remain a world leader in advanced engineering.
Advanced fibres, secure supply
From the roadmap: Adopt fibres and matrix materials that optimise properties and performance, with a secure future supply chain.
Composite fibres are being pushed to their operational limits: sub-zero temperatures (-253°C), extreme heat (2000°C), aggressive chemical environments.
If materials can be made to withstand these environments, they’ll deliver significant gains in product performance. With viable applications across advanced aerospace and defence products, it’s a challenge the UK can’t afford to let others solve.
In this context, it’s exciting to see innovations from SMEs like HTMS to accelerate novel materials development and processing. At the same time, Cygnet Texkimp and their partners are undertaking important work to bolster and protect UK knowledge of fibre processing.
Secure supply of these materials is critical, but the UK is reliant on imports for high value applications. HVM Catapult centres are working to address the supply chain gap:
- NCC and CPI’s advanced materials partnership is developing end-to-end innovation capabilities for carbon fibre, including a new Carbon Fibre Development Facility.
- A new thermoplastic tape capability at AMRC will develop material formats for novel applications in thermoplastics and Ceramic Matrix Composites.
Composites circularity
From the roadmap: Employ technologies and products that produce and use reclaimed composites
Composite materials are a key enabler of Net Zero and regenerative industries, from lightweighting transportation to enabling clean wind energy. However, industry must be transparent about the environmental impact of manufacturing composites.
Embodied carbon accounting is being adopted widely and will help quantify the scale of the challenge, but the capabilities we need most are those which re-use materials effectively.
The direction of travel is positive. Companies like Lineat and James Cropper have pioneered new aligned recycled material formats, a circular use of material which delivers distinct mechanical and processability benefits.
HVM Catapult capabilities like SMC Compounding at WMG and Fluidised Bed equipment at NMIS serve to compliment and scale innovations from industry.
Finally, partnerships such as CEAMS have demonstrated an effective framework for future breakthroughs. The consortium brought together academic, research and industrial expertise to achieve award-winning manufacturing demonstrations using recycled carbon fibre.
Collaborations like these will be key to solving the next challenge: as circular composite technologies mature, how do we scale up capabilities and develop UK supply chains to make the most of them?
Manufacturing at rate and scale
From the roadmap: Deploy highly automated manufacturing processes for scalable, cost-effective production using composite materials
Composite products are getting larger and more complex. At the same time, industries like civil aerospace are set to demand a tenfold increase in production rate. Meeting the demand requires that we develop faster, more accurate, and more efficient processes.
Loop Technology’s FibreFORM and FibreROLL processes exemplify a new generation of flexible and rate-capable methods of deposition. Companies like iCOMAT are demonstrating how digital design enablement, fibre steering and production ready manufacturing can unlock performance, cost and rate benefits simultaneously — particularly for defence, space and next generation aerospace platforms.
Across HVM Catapult, new industrial capabilities like AMRC’s Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) facility will de-risk and accelerate the development and manufacture of large-scale, high-rate composite parts, enabled and enhanced by digital infrastructure and digital twins.
NCC has established capability in this area in the Wing of Tomorrow Programme , proving dry fibre deposition and prepreg manufacturing systems at representative scale. A new Large Structures Innovation Centre will take this further - exploring how technologies like smart AI-controlled infusion can transform next-generation wind turbine blade development.
In tooling, a consortium led by GKN Aerospace is pulling together an industry grand challenge on tooling for composites to regenerate and catalyse the UK’s supply chain for large scale, complex composite processes and prototypes. The work builds on the ATI Composites Strategy, developed collaboratively by the Aerospace Technology Institute and the ATI Composites Working Group. This joined-up approach aligns sector-specific challenges with cross-sector initiatives to bolster UK competitiveness.
Final thought: not all transformative capabilities are new
99% of UK manufacturers are small and medium sized enterprises.
Their engagement with our roadmap and contributions to this future facing exercise were incredibly valuable. But for many, the key challenge is being more competitive in using existing materials and processes, including GRP (glass reinforced plastic) moulding.
So what support can we offer now to help these manufacturers deliver, scale and grow? HVM Catapult and its centres remain committed to meeting this challenge.
We discussed how simpler digital innovations can be a key enabler: making procurement and supply slicker, automating repetitive manufacturing processes, or supporting the development of entirely new products.
Services like the Manufacturing Energy Toolkit are designed to help SMEs adopt digital tools quickly to help reduce energy usage and monitor machine health. HVM Catapult centres also offer a range of services to help businesses move from initial product development through to commercial positioning.
Next steps
The roadmap maps the terrain. Now industry has to move on it.
The three capability gaps identified here (fibre technologies, circularity, and manufacturing at rate) won’t close themselves. They require coordinated investment, sustained collaboration across the supply chain, and a willingness to back UK capability development before international competitors get there first.
At the same time, the businesses closest to these future technologies, the SMEs developing new processes and materials today, need access to the tools, facilities and partnerships that help them scale. That’s what the HVM Catapult network exists to provide.
The strategy gives the ecosystem a shared map. The challenge now is to use it.
With thanks to the HVM Catapult Composites Technology Special Purpose Group:
- Matt Scott (NCC) (chair)
- Rob Hewison (AMRC)
- Ton Peijs (WMG)
- Tom Taylor (CPI)
- Lee Pinnell (NMIS)
- Mark Summers (NCC) (CTO sponsor)