Award reignites funding hopes

A national titanium technology grouping, based at the University of Waikato, has won a major award at the second annual KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.

Titanium Technologies New Zealand is the winner the AJ Park Commercialisation Collaboration Award at a ceremony in Auckland this month.


The TiTeNZ team at the KiwiNet Awards in early June.

TiTeNZ is a collaboration between the University of Waikato, Tauranga's Titanium Industry Development Association, Callaghan Innovation, GNS Science, the University of Auckland, and a number of industry partners .

TiTeNZ is a world leader in the development of titanium powder metallurgy and the awards are the pinnacle of KiwiNet activities, designed to build awareness and inspire research commercialisation success.

Faculty of Science and Engineering professor Brian Gabbitas says there's hope the award will lead to further funding for research into titanium and the development of more commercially-viable products.

At the University of Waikato, titanium research is largely centred on the production of products from titanium or titanium powder, through either extrusion or forging.

'We are working closely with South Auckland Forging Engineering and are manufacturing diving knives and components for deep sea diving apparatus,” says Brian.

The benefits of titanium are its strength and light weight, and Brian says forging or extruding products cuts waste significantly compared to milling products from a solid piece of material.

The use of titanium powder also cuts production costs significantly, says Brian.

Each partner in TiTeNZ is involved in different aspects of research, with further support from AUT also proving beneficial, says Brian.

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.