The next Marine-i Discovery Room event will shine a spotlight on composite materials and the vital role they will play in the marine industry in future.

The event, titled ‘Composite materials – sector challenges and opportunities for innovation’, takes place on Monday April 30 at St Austell Business Park Conference Centre.

Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i provides support for marine technology businesses operating in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Its Discovery Room events bring together the very latest thinking on a specific theme of marine technology and highlight the implications for marinetech businesses.

Alex Whatley, knowledge exchange manager at the University of Plymouth, is the lead organiser for this event. He said: “Recent advances in manufacturing methods have seen the advent of a new generation of composite materials, such as new thermoplastics, carbon fibre-based composites and even ‘self-healing’ composites.

“Delegates attending our event will be briefed on the key leading-edge innovations and explore how these can lead to important commercial applications across the marine industry.”

Composite Integration Ltd, which is based in Saltash, will be one of the speakers at the event. Director, Stephen Leonard-Williams, added: “Composite moulding technology is able to deliver in line with important global trends in the marine industry. As composite materials can be lightweight and durable, they score very highly on efficiency measures.”

The event will also explore ‘end of life’ reuse and recycling challenges and will feature expert speakers from the National Composite Centre, Multimarine Manufacturing, and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. Attendance at the event is free, and delegates can see more details and register here.