Transport

The transportation landscape and demands thereof by consumers is evolving at a pace beyond that to which the industry is capable of adapting; and in ways which have disrupted stagnant manufacturers, outdated business models, rigid supply chains and historic processes and materials.  

Transport

Rowan Carstensen

Strategic Advisor

×

Transport

Rowan Carstensen

Strategic Advisor

For two and a half years Rowan has been the Operations Manager at Prodrive Composites. Here he has led productivity and cultural turn-arounds and investment into automation to continue driving sustainable products. He has recently completed a part-time MBA at Imperial College London to broaden his knowledge and position himself to make tangible, strategic impacts in the transport sector.

Talking about why he applied for the role, Rowan said, ‘The UK’s sustainability ambitions and drive for an increasingly productive economy will require a synchronised approach in the transport sector. The role IOM3 can play is significant. I look forward to understanding the demands, challenges and opportunities of each Technical Community, combining their knowledge base and guiding them toward a holistic and advantageous position to grow the UK transport sector’.

Rowan oversees the IOM3 Adhesion & Adhesives Group, Composites Group, and Elastomer Group. 

Adhesion & Adhesives Group

A forum for professionals to gain information, knowledge and an understanding of all aspects of adhesion and adhesive technologies and processes.

Composites Group

Providing a focus for fibre-reinforced composite materials and structures

Elastomer Group

Covering all the technical aspects of using elastomeric materials

Sustainability drivers, mobility-as-a-service mindsets and a shift in value perception by consumers, industries, governments and investors have meant that topics like resource efficiency, vehicle life span, recycling and production efficiency have become central to our daily discussions. It’s no surprise then, that enablers of these drivers are focused heavily on composites, adhesives and elastomers, comprehensively used in the modern vehicle: cars, trains, planes, boats, e-scooters, bicycles and beyond; to future vehicles such as eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing), drones and light personal vehicles in the L categories between cars and scooters. 

What are some of the relevant materials challenges related to the transport sector? Elastomers for seals, high wear environments, suspension systems, NVH requirements and fire-retardant areas mean their breadth of use in the sector is widespread (and needed). Adhesives (the modern joining process replacement for bolts, rivets and welding) improve productivity, material and labour costs, lightweighting, corrosion and safety and with easier recycling methods. Composites provide flexibility in design and processing beyond which many other materials can offer and provide lightweighting, strength, stiffness, durability, corrosion and temperature resistance and NCH benefits, all of which can be tailored specifically for each application, from high-volume low cost, to high performance applications in aerospace and Formula 1. Advances in metallic alloys will be needed to provide higher strength with lighter weight and to reduce the overall use of all these valuable materials and their effect on the planet in extraction, production, use and reuse.