The Materials Advanced Characterisation Centre (MACH1) aims to make Swansea University a world-leading centre in the application of high throughput technology (HTT) for materials characterisation. The capabilities of the newly established laboratory with start-up funding from A4B covers a wide range of materials (ceramics, metals, polymers and composites) as well as a variety of forms (solids, liq
uids, powders, pastes). The centre has had strong support from primary materials, manufacturing and engineering industries in Wales, as well as organisations such as the National Physics Laboratory and the European Space Agency. Emphasising the strategic nature of the centre and the projects as a whole, is that high throughput materials characterisation has been identified at many levels as one of the most relevant methodologies for the accelerated discovery of new materials which can address abiotic resource depletion and also address key environmental issues such as global warming. Adoption of HTT methodology has the benefit of being considerably cheaper than traditional routes, and more effective at generating new intellectual property (IP) for the industries involved, with a proven 5% added value to the company’s product, and could have a significant impact in the long-term for companies in Wales. Through a 16 month project funded by A4B ending in December 2014, the MACH1 centre will provide various levels of support to industry and academic research, and will also begin to build HTT capabilities based on a basic level of material property characterisation equipment.
