Two WMG research projects, Project AMICABLE and Project TUCANA, were recognised at the Composites Industry Awards this week.

Project AMICABLE, a 12-month Innovate UK funded project, which set out to produce a lightweight, permanently antimicrobial grab pole for use in public transport, won the Innovation in Composite Materials award.

Researchers from WMG’s Lightweight Materials and Manufacturing team worked with, product designers Transport Design International (TDI), anti-microbial additive developers BioCote and Promethean Particles and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and manufacturers Composites Braiding Ltd (CBL), to produce lightweight composite grab-poles with an embedded anti-microbial property.

The anti-microbial grab poles can be used in a wide range of public transport applications, such as bus, tram, rail and underground, helping to reduce transmission of infections.

A second project involving experts from WMG, called Project Tucana and led by Jaguar Land Rover, was recognised in the Innovation in Composite Design category.

The APC funded project is an enabler for future generations of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), demonstrated through the redesign of the rear structure of a Jaguar I-Pace, the acclaimed Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) BEV, bringing together a consortium of world-leading academic and industry partners. Researchers and engineers from WMG’s Automotive Composites Research Centre helped to develop the manufacturing technology to design stiffer and lighter vehicle structures using light weight carbon fibre materials.

Read more about the Composites Industry Awards here: Composites Industry Awards | Composites UK