We worked with five partners on an Innovation UK funded project, which set out to produce a lightweight, permanently antimicrobial grab pole for use in public transport. Our partners included an innovative rail vehicle designer and manufacturer; two antimicrobial materials developers and suppliers; WMG, The University of Warwick; and the Health and Safety Executive.
The project was designed to address two key limitations of traditional steel grab poles:
Therefore, our aims were to develop a solution that could:
When tested against the ISO standard 22196 (which measures antibacterial activity), our grab poles killed 99.9% of bacteria found on the surface. This means they will help to protect the people who use them from dangerous bacterial infections such as E.coli and MRSA.
Our grab poles also performed extremely well in heat aging and wear tests, showing no deterioration in their antibacterial properties.
The grab poles are also:
When tested against the ISO standard 22196 (which measures antibacterial activity), our grab poles killed 99.9% of bacteria found on the surface. This means they will help to protect the people who use them from dangerous bacterial infections such as E.coli and MRSA.
Our grab poles also performed extremely well in heat aging and wear tests, showing no deterioration in their antibacterial properties.
The grab poles are also:
Our braided antimicrobial composite materials can be produced in almost any shape, cross-section and format. We can manufacture other high-touch items for public transport, such as luggage racks and stacks, seat components, and many other structural items. Beyond public transport, there is also enormous potential. We already have interest from the marine, medical and construction sectors, and antimicrobial parts would also be valuable in settings such as education, hospitality and offices — in fact, any environment where there is high touch frequency and therefore greater risk of infections spreading.
Our technology has been recognised as world-leading. Working with a consortium of other manufacturing companies, we won two global innovation awards for the design of a very light rail carriage: