'World-leading capability': New South Yorkshire facility due to make aircraft lighter opens doors
A new £54m research and development facility which will help make aircraft lighter and more environmentally-friendly has officially opened in South Yorkshire.
The Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) facility is lef by the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and home to Boeing's biggest global research programme with the potential to create 3,000 UK jobs and around £2 billion annually in export opportunities.
COMPASS is intended enable the production of lighter aircraft parts, improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. This will be achieved by using composites rather than metal and Boeing will draw on the facility to automate production of composite parts for its future aircraft programmes.
Boeing is the first user of the facility but it is intended it will give manufacturers of all sizes access to the industrial research infrastructure needed to make large components from composite materials – allowing it to be used in renewable energy and defence projects as well as aerospace.
A spokesperson said: “As global aircraft demand hit record highs, with more than 40,000 aircraft needed over the next 20 years, the UK industry is making a targeted play to capture a greater share of the multi-billion-pound aerospace export market. COMPASS serves as critical national infrastructure to meet this demand, unlocking the advanced capabilities required to manufacture large-scale aerostructures faster and more efficiently within the UK.”
The centre was officially opened on Thursday by South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard.
"South Yorkshire has always been a place that makes things,” he said.
"For generations we've taken ideas, innovation and hard work and turned them into products that change the world.
"COMPASS is the latest chapter in that story. It brings together the world-leading expertise of the AMRC, the University of Sheffield and partners like Boeing and puts South Yorkshire at the forefront of the next generation of aerospace manufacturing.
"More than new technology, it's helping to create good jobs, attract new investment and give people across our communities the chance to stay near and go far, building successful careers in one of the most innovative manufacturing regions anywhere in the world."
Professor Ben Morgan, Chief Executive Officer at the University of Sheffield AMRC, said: “COMPASS delivers a world-leading capability built on two decades of the AMRC’s industrially relevant composites and automation research.
“To secure the UK’s position as a leading aerospace manufacturing nation, we must de-risk new technologies at scale. This facility will do exactly that, unlocking jobs, attracting investment and driving economic growth.
“This project has been a true collaborative effort. My sincere thanks go to the government’s ATI Programme, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and the University of Sheffield, alongside our technology and research partners Loop and Boeing as we embark on our first landmark project together."
Lane Ballard, Chief Technology Officer of Boeing, said: “Boeing’s IHSS programme at COMPASS demonstrates how advanced composites, automation and digital technologies can deliver high-rate, large-scale production that supports high-value manufacturing jobs. Boeing is firmly committed to the UK’s workforce, supply chain and manufacturing ecosystem, turning initiatives like IHSS into scalable production capability and strengthening the country’s position as a global aerospace leader.”
Alun Reece, Chief Executive Officer of Loop Technology, said: “It is deeply gratifying to see the COMPASS facility open its doors. Since the initial conception in 2019, this project has demanded vision, dedication, and outstanding teamwork from all the partners. Today marks a significant milestone, bringing us one major step closer to our goal of manufacturing composite aerostructures at greater speed and scale.”
COMPASS is home to state-of-the-art equipment funded through a £29.5 million grant from the ATI Programme, a partnership between the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), Department for Business and Trade and Innovate UK.
Gary Elliott, Chief Executive Officer of the ATI, said: “The University of Sheffield AMRC has a proud record of providing cutting edge support to the aerospace industry. COMPASS takes that further still, providing a world-leading open-access facility for UK innovation in composites technology, with support from the ATI Programme. This supports our ambition to double UK aerospace market value by 2035, with significant opportunities associated with composites driving jobs and growth across the country.”
Importance of partnerships shown by facility
COMPASS demonstrates the importance of collaboration between universities and industry, says University of Sheffield vice-chancellor Professor Koen Lamberts..
He said: “At the University of Sheffield we have already seen the power of innovation in driving growth and transforming local economies through our Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the impact it has had in attracting investment and creating jobs in the South Yorkshire region. COMPASS is the latest example of this and we are excited to see how this new national facility will grow.
“The new COMPASS facility represents how important partnerships between universities and industry are to the UK. In the UK, we have some of the best universities in the world who are making breakthroughs at the very cutting edge of science, technology, engineering and many other fields. With targeted investment like this, we can harness these capabilities to grow UK industries, such as manufacturing, as well as secure investment from major overseas partners such as Boeing to drive jobs and growth.”