The UK´s plastics research and development centre, Faraday Plastics (GB-Shawbury, Shrewsbury SY4 4NR; www.faraday-plastics.com) has produced what it terms a technology road map (TRM) to encourage companies to adopt low energy polymer processing techniques. The aim of the TRM is to catalyse the plastics industry into measuring its energy-use performance and to change it for the better.

“This is the beginning of a very important debate that needs to happen within the plastics and rubber sector on energy-processing,” says Faraday Plastics director, Richard Simpson. “Not only does the practice make commercial and competitive sense, but energy efficiency is also desirable on environmental and health and safety grounds.”

Among the TRM recommendations are a programme of market research to study how efficient the polymer processing sector is at present, a campaign to promote the use of heater insulation, and the establishment of a centre to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency to processors. Other proposals include the creation of a financial model for typical payback periods so as toprovide incentives for the adoption of energy-saving measures, and training programmes for energy measurement and management.

Faraday Plastics is funded by the UK government and provides opportunities for companies to attract finance for developments in plastics technology. Its partners include Rapra, Europe´s leading independent plastics and rubber research and technology organisation, the Warwick Manufacturing Group, which provides expertise and research capability in design, prototyping and injection moulding, and the Bradford University Department of Mechanical Engineering, which has skills in polymer processing, process measurement techniques and rheology. Apart from the TRM energy initiative, priorities for Faraday Plastics over the next three years include recycling and sustainability, and the development of further healthcare and automotive applications.