Phase 2 Construction Gets Underway At National Composites Centre

Construction on the second phase of the NCC got underway, with a turf cutting ceremony attended by the Business Minister Michael Fallon. He was joined by a group of major business leaders and academics who are part of this collaborative project.

The doubling in size of the NCC, which is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, is being supported by Government funding of £28 million and will bring an additional 50 NCC jobs, 30-50 jobs within the member organisations and 80-150 construction jobs during the build phase.

As well as providing increased capacity and a dedicated high-speed composite manufacturing technology facility, there will be a new world-class training centre for higher level and vocational skills development. This will help train the next generation of engineers in composites manufacturing and technologies and bring together leading businesses, colleges and Universities.

Business Minister Michael Fallon said:

This technology and innovation centre is an important asset for the south-west and the UK. It is a real collaborative success story and helping to give us a competitive advantage in composites – a vital technology in high value manufacturing.

The Government’s Catapult programme is managed by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the UK’s innovation agency. The TSB announced today that it will invest a record £440 million this year to support innovative businesses and drive growth across the UK. The 2013-14 Delivery Plan sets out the Board’s priorities for the coming year as part of their commitment to knowledge sharing and collaboration. It also explains how businesses will be able to access an even wider range of support across the entire innovation journey. Technology areas that will benefit from the investment include renewable energy, future cities, advanced materials, satellites, digital technologies and healthcare.

The NCC is owned by the University of Bristol and draws on established links to composites research at Bristol, the University of Bath and other UK Universities.

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