To embed enabling advanced materials and manufacturing techniques to create innovative and performance enhancing components to improve the wheelchair product ranges for patients with profound disabilities.

Tyres represent the biggest repair problems and operational costs for wheelchair users, cyclists and public bicycle sharing scheme (BSS) operators globally and a tyre puncture can present significant problems for wheelchair users and commuter cyclists. Traditional pneumatic tyres comprising an air-filled inner tube and a rubber outer shell are the preferred choice, offering the best ride performance, shock-absorbance & traction, despite the risk of punctures & air leakage. Under inflated pneumatic tyres suffer reduced performance, greater wear & degradation, sidewall cracking & eventual tyre failure posing a safety risk & increasing maintenance costs further. Advanced rubber pneumatics can be manufactured with a puncture resistant infill, however, this is expensive (standard tyre >£20) & air leakage remains a problem. Non-pneumatic microcellular polyurethane tyres are a puncture-proof alternative and are used for wheelchairs & bicycles, offering reassurance against punctures but have a hard ride, poor shock absorbance, greater rolling resistance, lack of rebound, reduced traction, & wheels must be checked and maintained more frequently due to deterioration of spoke tension. Compared to pneumatics, polyurethane tyres also have slightly less grip than pneumatic tyres, which can be a problem for secure braking, especially for self-propelled wheelchairs. Greentyre Limited, the original developer of puncture proof polyurethane tyres, seek to develop an advanced flat-free tyre using a novel micro-cellular PU & rubber composite that can provide equivalent performance to a rubber pneumatic, at lower cost, with longer life & reduced weight, significantly reducing the current performance gap between airless & pneumatic tyres to meet demand in the wheelchair & commuter bicycle/BSS markets. The project focuses on the development of a novel tyre production processes and prototype tyres for wheelchair user and cyclist trials.