§ Judy MallaberTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the projects supported by her Department's Innovation Budget involving technical textiles. [121944]
§ Ms HewittMy Department has supported the following individual technical textile projects under the Innovation Budget:
- Innovative non-woven rail foundation materials that will help to drain rainwater and stabilise the rail track-bed.
- Durability of geosynthetics to investigate the durability of geotextiles used in road construction.
- Flexible fire barriers that are light and strong to replace traditional construction materials.
- Conductive materials including `qwerty' keypad for use as pressure sensors.
- Electrically conductive fabrics for use in the "wearable computer"
- Technical textile bandages which provide a measured pressure to help treat leg
- Venous ulcer patients and to prevent deep vein thrombosis in long flight passengers
- Technical textile-based limb protectors and ballistic helmets, to provide lighter and stronger equipment for the armed forces and police
- Double cloth technology—to develop the capabilities of double cloth weaving for use in various fibres
- Fire resistant polypropylene yarns for use in cheap carpets and furnishing fabrics used in public spaces
- Hybrid laminates from adhesive thermo-bonding Universal insulation system to provide an improved balance in performance clothing between comfort and protection from heat
- Laser seaming of performance textiles to provide cloth seams of predictable and consistent strength
- Impact-resistant non-wovens for use as motorcycle protective clothing and body armour
- Fire resistant fabrics based on rare animal fibres that combine high performance with luxury finish for example in aircraft and yachts
- Designing advanced fibre ropes, e.g. for mooring oilrigs in very deep waters
- Technical textile CAD, develop and implement a Computer Aided
- Engineering (CAE) system in the technical textiles sector Textile-reinforced composites
- Warp/weft-knitted fabrics with metal wire content, for electromagnetic shielding that can fit around bodies
- Novel lap joint for non-wovens, which ensures the join is as strong as the rest of the material
- Long-staple yarn for technical textile applications, combining the best properties ty' natural and man-made fibres in high-strength materials
- 3D seamless flatbed knitting with various applications e.g. in healthcare: seamless 'whole body bandages for burns victims and other skin treatments
- 3D nonwovens—A project that will allow manufacturers to predict more closely the porosity and weight of a finished product such as a dust filter
- Technical Textile Project Co-ordinator, to help companies find partners and funding for R and D
19W - National Advisor on Technical Textiles to the industry-led Textile and Clothing Strategy Group
- Technical textile database, in order to help suppliers and manufacturers in the industry find partners for commerce and R and D.