Xenia Materials has secured a materials development partnership with the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) for the development of future composite materials.
The aim of the alliance is to ‘strengthen the connection between industry and research,’ promoting advanced research activities and experimental development focused on the design of new smart materials. In particular, a focus will be put on developing materials that are lightweight and high-performance.
While the partnership will focus primarily on the development of materials engineered for injection moulding, it will also cover materials for pellet- and filament-based 3D printing.
Xenia Materials will combine its 30+ years’ experience in reinforced composite materials with the ‘scientific excellence and multidisciplinary capabilities’ of CNR’s Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB).
The collaboration targets the formulation of future-oriented materials that combine tailored engineering properties with integrated smart functionalities, such as self-healing behaviour, energy absorption, EMI shielding and electrical conductivity. These functionalities will be achieved through advanced composite architectures reinforced with carbon fibres, nanofillers and graphene, allowing researchers to explore optimised mechanical performance and expanded design flexibility for the development of innovative, high-performance applications in engineering-intensive sectors such as aerospace, defence and energy.
“This partnership represents a concrete step toward industry-oriented research, where scientific knowledge and processing capabilities are integrated to accelerate the development of cutting-edge material solutions,” said Fabio Azzolin, CEO of Xenia Materials. “A shared pathway aimed at creating new composites designed to anticipate the technological and application-driven challenges of the coming years.”
"This agreement represents a strategic step towards leveraging the Institute's scientific expertise in a concrete industrial context. The collaboration with Xenia Materials will allow us to develop specifically optimised advanced engineered materials, accelerating technology transfer and the impact of research on manufacturing processes," added Pietro Russo, materials engineer and senior researcher at IPCB-CNR.
