On 29, 30 and 31 March IK4 went to Paris to take part in JEC Composites, the biggest European exhibition on composite materials, where it jointly presented the global offer that the centres that comprise the Basque Technology Alliance are making in the matter of composites.
Composites are synthetic materials that form a compound when they are blended heterogeneously by molecules of different elements. The combination of materials provides the compound with properties that are different from those of the raw materials it originates from, like increased toughness or lightness. That is why they are used in numerous fields of application, from aeronautics to construction.
During the conference IK4 presented its developments within the framework of the pavilion of Spain, which in this edition was the fair’s Country of Honour. There it shared the space with organisations like Tecnatom, Aernnova, Sener, Future Fibres, APPlus+, FIDAMC, and others.
The Technology Alliance presented a sample of its main capacities in three major areas of action: materials, processes and manufacture, and recycling. So it showed the latest pieces of research in intelligent materials, nanomaterials, biomaterials and plastic electronics, as well as the processes for made-to-measure assembly, or the environmental applications of composites.
These latest advances in research on composites are the ones that allow their practical applications to be extended to a wide range of fields like aeronautics, the automotive industry, construction, wind power or the nautical sector.
During the fair, these trends were studied in all the sectors of application in order to provide 12 high-quality forums for end users and industries, as well as lectures on technical and strategic matters for all the participants in the composites industry. 96 countries were represented at JEC Composites, which was attended by approximately 27,000 visitors. This makes it one of the biggest conferences organised on the composites sector worldwide.