Innovative materials are in demand for a wide variety of applications, from automotive and aerospace to construction and domestic applications. Australia has a record as an innovator and developer of advanced materials, and has substantial infrastructure in this area. These materials can be used to develop new components for existing or entirely new consumer goods, for the construction and packaging industries, for the aerospace industry and for military applications.

Competitive strengths and opportunities exist in areas such as synthetic resins, speciality chemicals, moulded plastics, pigments, coatings, packaging, advanced polymers.

Composites

Composites are products made by combining two or more materials with different properties to harness the advantages of each. The overall characteristics of a finished composite are a combination of the characteristics of the individual components, but far exceed those achievable from any one component used in isolation. Polymer composites offer many advantages over conventional materials including lightness, corrosion resistance, toughness and ease of processing.

New materials can be developed to achieve a desired balance of performance, cost and processing ability, or to produce a material with specific characteristics. Australian researchers have created composites with protective characteristics such as fire resistance and UV resistance, hybrid coatings with high corrosion resistance and adhesive properties without the use of toxins, and environmentally friendly composites for packaging made with biodegradable resins.

The Australian Government has funded a Cooperative Research Centre for Composites to promote collaborative arrangements to maximise the benefits of research through an enhanced process of utilisation, commercialisation and technology transfer. The Composites CRC excels at transferring technology to its core participants and commercial research clients alike.

Light metals

Ultra-light, ultra-strong, recyclable metals are in demand for a wide variety of energy-saving applications, from automotive and aerospace to energy efficient and corrosion resistant domestic applications.

Light metals include aluminium, magnesium, beryllium, titanium and lithium, which are more reactive than 'traditional' metals. Altogether, the light metals industry in Australia already generates around A$15 billion per year, with exports worth A$10 billion. With an established aluminium industry, abundant magnesium and titanium resources and a scientific research base capable of developing the new manufacturing processes necessary to refine these reactive metals, Australia is well placed to service the growing demand for light metals.

The Australian Government announced funding for a Light Metals Flagship within CSIRO, and Australian researchers are already developing the new technology and manufacturing systems needed for light metal extraction, processing and fabrication.

Plastics

Chemicals and plastics is a A$27 billion industry in Australia, and is forecast to grow to A$42 billion by 2010 thanks to Australia’s strategic location in the Asia-Pacific region, innovative technologies and leading management practices.

More than 80,000 people are employed across the full spectrum of production, from base and feedstock products, to speciality and refined chemicals, intermediate goods and finished products.

Innovation

Research strengths exist through the CSIRO in materials science and manufacturing, the CRCs in Advanced Composites, and Polymers, as well as numerous universities and institutions.

In fact, you may already use a number of Australian developed innovations in chemicals and plastics every day, such as polymer bank notes and next generation biodegradable and recyclable packaging.

Successes

Many of the world's leading chemicals and plastics companies have found a competitive edge in Australia including BASF, Basell, Degussa, Dow, 3M, Millenium and Ciba Specialty Chemicals.

Together with home grown global successes like Orica, Amcor and Visy, they are taking advantage of opportunities to service growing markets from Australia. In fact, more than 60 per cent of the sector’s exports are bound for Asia-Pacific markets.

Polymers

Every day, new materials with unprecedented characteristics are created in response to a variety of emerging needs. Analysis of the properties of natural and human-made materials enables researchers to create new advanced materials, which offer advantages including lightness, corrosion resistance, toughness, sound damping and ease of processing.

Australian Businesses, universities and government research organisations have joined to form the Cooperative Research Centre on Polymers. The centre works with both large companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop specialised materials for agriculture, biomedical engineering, mining, energy, and more broadly, for manufacturing applications.

The benefits include increased employment from the creation of spin-off SMEs; significant export and licensing income from the centre’s global exploitation of technologies; and competitive advantages by providing the new polymer materials required for sustainability and high technology developments. The research activities of the CRC for Polymers are conducted in four programs: biomedical polymers, advanced polymeric materials, polymers for sustainable development, and engineering and design.

A recent success has been involved ceramifying polymers. Plastics and other polymers typically ignite and collapse when exposed to a fire because they decompose. Ceramifying polymers are materials designed to convert from a polymer to a ceramic without changing their shape. This makes it possible to make polymer based fire protection products that will form effective fire barriers, thus helping reduce the spread of fires within a building and providing the occupants with more time to escape.