FAC Technology
FAC Technology is a young high-tech R&D company focused on the design, testing and manufacturing of composite structures. The company was formed in 2011 and has built up a highly skilled team of scientists and engineers, developed state of the art research and development capabilities, and fostered collaborative relationships with two of the top three universities in the UK.
Alex Fergusson is the Founder of Fergusson’s Advanced Composite Technology Limited, now trading as FAC Technology. Alex is an Alumni & Honorary Lecturer of Imperial College London with a PhD in Aerospace Composites. Composite Materials, Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. Alex founded the company after his PhD, with a mission to research and develop high performance composites, engineered from the nanoscale up and commercialise IP through strategic licensing agreements.
FAC Technology have developed a portfolio of composites for different industries and applications with varying functional properties. The team have dramatically shortened the R&D cycle by utilising their own proprietary software to predict the functional properties of a range of composites. This process speeds up the identification of relevant composites, allows rapid prototyping and reduces the testing effort required.
The FAC team have developed composites for a number of sectors:
- Aerospace – composites developed include high strength foams, which can be used together with carbon fibre like composites to provide light, strong structures/materials;
- Electric Vehicles – the team have developed a material that can remove heat from batteries;
- Fire Protection – composites developed include fire resistant foams and cladding.
The team are developing composites with sustainable materials. Historically composites have been developed using materials derived from petro-chemicals and other non-sustainable sources. The team are keen to transition to producing fully bio-based composites as soon as possible. Currently the portfolio is 50% bio-derived, with a target to get to 80% by the end of the year. The challenge is to find bio-derived materials with the right functional properties!
The company has recently been successful in pitching for a place on a UK KTN Innovation Exchange programme, with Airbus to replace the glue on satellites, which should help move FAC Technology forward commercially.
We wish the team well with the KTN project and the move to sustainable composites & will be watching their progress closely!
If you would like to know more about this fascinating company, please contact John Allies at john@strategicallies.co.uk
Images courtesy of FAC Technology.