The Australian Research Council (ARC), in collaboration with 16 domestic and international partner organisations, has launched a research hub to explore three core themes of sustainability, circular economies, and extraordinary functionality, and take materials research from ‘lab to label’.
- Led by Deakin University, the new ARC Research Hub for Functional and Sustainable Fibres aims to harness Australia’s research capacity in fibre, textiles, and composite materials to develop materials with enhanced functionality, meeting Australian consumer and industrial demand for advanced fibre capabilities including recycling and re-purposing textile waste.
- It will address the immediate need to reduce industry’s reliance on petroleum-derived materials and to reduce the environmental impact of supply chains.
DEAKIN INFRA: The Hub will use the world-class research teams and facilities at Deakin University's Institute for Frontier Materials.
- Deakin boasts of the largest and most advanced fibre research group in the southern hemisphere, with more than 110 researchers.
- The new Future Fibres Facility is unique, housing fibre production and yarn processing equipment, along with specialised knitting and weaving machines.
- ARC is investing $5 million over 5 years under the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Programme.
IN SUPPORT: The ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres includes research partners at the CSIRO, National University of Singapore, EMPA (Swiss Federal Labs for Materials Science and Technology), Aalto University (Finland) and Imperial College London.
- The new Future Fibres Facility is supported by the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), a part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
WHAT THEY SAID:
The ARC Research Hub is fundamental to increasing collaboration between Australia’s most innovative researchers and vital industries. The ARC has a proud history of supporting outstanding research that benefits the Australian community, and the ARC Research Hub for Functional and Sustainable Fibres is a great example of this. In collaboration with industry partners, the research team are building on the work undertaken by the ARC Research Hub for a World-class Future Fibre Industry which ended in 2021 – this continued success is no easy feat.
— Professor Christina Twomey
Chief Research Officer
Australian Research Council (ARC)
The continued support for the Future Fibres Hub, which is now in its second iteration, demonstrates the value industry places in research collaboration and Deakin's commitment to fostering innovation. Work supported by our research hub and new fibres facility will bring benefits to a range of industries - such as automotive, mining and fashion - through a wide array of partnership projects. These projects also have a strong sustainability and circular economy focus, including the generation of fibres from new and sustainable sources, as well as fibres that can be recovered and reused. By creating smarter materials and technology, this work will contribute to Deakin's mission to translate ideas to impact, fostering innovation that strengthens the economy and enables a sustainable world.
— Professor Iain Martin
Vice-Chancellor
Deakin University
In the past, we could produce a sample of a new material, but not a whole garment. We couldn't go from lab to label before. Thanks to our new Future Fibres Facility, the final steps in that process are now available. Australians will be able to wear clothes and buy products made from materials that they know have far less environmental impact.
— Professor Joe Razal
Director
Future Fibres Hub
