We are delighted to announce that the FLOWER project (Flax composites, LOW weight, End of life and Recycling) has been approved by the Interreg VA France (Channel) England European cross-border cooperation programme, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The project has a total budget of 4.6 M€, and will run until September 2022.

FLOWER aims to develop novel, low-cost, light-weight, non-woven and woven flax fibre reinforcements for the local composites industry. Biodegradable and bio-based thermoplastics will also be explored to ensure end-of-life sustainability. The outcomes from this project will enable achieving the aspiration of transforming natural fibre composites as cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, light-weight and viable alternatives to glass fibre composites for the automotive, marine, and point-of-sales advertising sectors. As deliverables of the project, structural components of a flying boat (hydrofoil), which will make its maiden journey across the English Channel, automotive roof panels, and point-of-sales advertising display boards will be made with the developed flax composite material technologies.

The FLOWER consortium comprises 8 partners. Led by the University of South Brittany, FLOWER brings together 4 academic partners (University of South Brittany in Lorient, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Nantes, University of Cambridge, and University of Portsmouth) and 4 industrial partners (Kaïros, Teillage Vandecandelaère, EcoTechnilin and Howa-Tramico). The project is also supported by a number of UK organisations including Hethel Innovation, Natural Materials Association (sub-group of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining), Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association, Eco-Composites Ltd, and the From Plants to Products Network.

At the University of Cambridge, FLOWER is led by Principal Investigator Dr Michael H. Ramage (mhr29@cam.ac.uk), and research investigator Dr Darshil U. Shah (dus20@cam.ac.uk).