Research at the Composites Group concentrates on developing multifunctional and lightweight composites from green and recyclable materials.

Led by Professor Xiaosu Yi and Dr Xiaoling Liu, the team is playing a leading role in technology advancement and promoting the application of green material in manufacturing.

One of the team’s focus areas is to replace the use of petroleum resin with plant resin in the developing of high-performance composites. In the ACC TECH-UNNC Joint Laboratory in Sustainable Composites Materials, there is a rowing boat uniquely made of bio-sourced green resin composite materials, instead of resin materials derived from fossil resources. Compared with traditional rowing boats, it is much lighter in weight but with equivalent performance.

The team is collaborating with partners at home and abroad on various projects. In a project with Arkema, a world-leading chemical company, the team is working to enhance the thermoplastic moulding process to enable plastic products to be recycled in a simpler and more economical way.