Advanced Material Development (AMD) recently announced that it secured its first contract under the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) Weapons Sector Research Framework (WSRF), worth £125,000 (around USD$166,700).
The contract will fund the early development of AMD’s proprietary technology in carbon-based inks to improve protection systems for people and assets.
AMD is one of the first SMEs to be selected on the research framework managed by QinetiQ, and their key partners MBDA and Thales.
The inks have been developed to be highly conductive and to offer significant benefits in size, weight and cost reduction across a whole range of systems, not just for military applications.
John Lee, CEO of AMD, said: “Several elements of our proprietary technology to develop the specialist inks have benefitted greatly from the support of Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA) funding. The WSRF funding is the next step in this development, allowing us to make sure the technologies stand up to the rigors of real-life applications. Not only will this prove the inks’ potential on defense and security applications, but it also allows us to exploit that development in our commercial markets.”
Professor Alan Dalton, Chief Scientific Advisor at AMD said: “At AMD, we make use of the nanoscale to deliver material properties and characteristics which would otherwise be impossible to realize, changing the way they react to the environment in which they operate.”
“Our ability to control the materials’ thermal, electrical, mechanical and optical properties allows us to develop advanced sensors and electronics which are stronger, lighter, safer, and more secure and sustainable. We are already addressing key needs in automotive, defense and security, retail, packaging and telecommunications, but there is huge potential to go further.”