FP5 research to be on show at Materialica
Bringing together academic and commercial partners from across Europe to develop innovative and environmentally sustainable new industrial materials is the aim of the European Commission's 400 million euro growth material facility of the Fifth Framework programme. Solid evidence that these collaborations are achieving their goals will be on show at the Materialica 2000 trade fair in Munich, Germany, starting on 25 September. The co-ordinators of three ongoing projects will demonstrate the practical applications of their technologies and show the benefits of a multidisciplinary pan-European approach to solving industrial problems. Two of the projects highlight the potential value for the engineering industry of taking a fresh look at conventional industrial materials. One will show how high mouldability fibreboard can be used in the manufacture of high quality and ecologically efficient decorative parts in the automobile and related industries. The second will demonstrate the advantages of fibre-reinforced aluminium alloy composites in the production of ultra-high strength and yet lightweight engineering components. The third project offers a cheap and effective solution for the problems of molecular biologists in detecting specific target molecules. A consortium of companies and academic groups from Belgium, Germany and the UK, led by the Belgian-based biotechnology firm Innogenetics has developed a disposable plastic display for detecting binding reactions between antibodies and their target antigens. A patent has been applied for on the technology which offers levels of sensitivity which has previously been achievable only with silicon-chip technologies. The three projects are among 565 collaborations funded through the Growth programme, which represents one fifth of all the research activity supported through the Commission Fifth Framework programme. A total of 200 million euro is still available to support further projects under the scheme. Representatives from the Growth programme will be on hand at the Materialica 2000 fair to assist applicants seeking international partners for future projects. As the EU˜s main access point for information on research funding Cordis officials will also be offering advice at the meeting on issues such as intellectual property rights (IPR) and linking innovation, finance and technology (LIFT).logy, she
Countries
Germany