Haydale, (AIM: HAYD), the global advanced materials group, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding of £186,403 by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, to develop smart composite tooling for the aerospace industry using functionalised nanomaterials.

The ESENSE project (Out-of-autoclave self-heated tooling enabling temperature homogeneity and embedded graphene sensors) aims to enhance out-of-autoclave (OOA) manufacturing processes with monitoring and through-life sensing capabilities using Haydale's patented HDPlas® functionalisation process to develop high temperature inks and pressure sensors. The project is due to start in April 2022 and is expected to run for 24 months.

Haydale Composite Solutions Limited ('HCS') and Haydale Limited are partners in the project alongside Atlas Composites Technologies, Brunel University London, Advise-Deta, TWI, and Energy Carbon. The parties will address the demand for lightweight composite materials in aerospace and the need for eco-friendly and cost-effective manufacturing processes.

The ESENSE project aims to replace costly autoclave moulded processes with a multi-zone OOA self-heated tooling solution potentially offering up to 20% shorter lead times and a 15% energy saving compared to traditional aerospace composite part manufacturing processes.

Haydale's functionalised graphene inks offer a non-intrusive solution and unlike current self-heating tooling can withstand temperature inhomogeneity and complex processing conditions thanks to the enhanced characteristics plasma functionalisation imparts. The pressure sensors can potentially integrate with online processes and in-service monitoring to provide robust, defect-free manufacturing at a cost of up to 45-55% less than autoclave manufacturing.

While OOA is mostly used in aerospace, the outputs from this collaborative project could potentially have far reaching benefits for other sectors such as automotive, renewable energy and consumer electronics where improve efficiencies and product quality are being sought.

Keith Broadbent, CEO at Haydale, commented; "With the Smart Grants award from Innovate UK, Haydale can supplement and further develop core technology and thereby help to bring to market a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly manufacturing solution for composite parts. Using functionalised nanomaterials, we are looking to address the current issues experienced using self-heated tooling solutions and we look forward to working with the project's partners on a solution that will significantly enhance the quality of composite materials and exploit their full potential not just in aerospace but in other commercially viable solutions."

For further information:

Notes to Editors

Haydale is a global technologies and materials group that facilitates the integration of graphene and other nanomaterials into the next generation of commercial technologies and industrial materials.  With expertise in graphene, silicon carbide and other nanomaterials, Haydale can deliver improvements in electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties, as well as toughness through its state-of-the-art functionalisation. Haydale has granted patents for its technologies in Europe, USA, Australia, Japan, and China and operates from five sites in the UK, USA, and the Far East.

For more information please visit: www.haydale.com  

LinkedIn: Haydale-ltd

Twitter: @haydalegraphene  

About Innovate UK

Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.

We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them to turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth.

We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions.

Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.innovateuk.ukri.org.  

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