Titomic awarded over AUS $2.3 million grant for space-based applications
August 26, 2021
Titomic Ltd, Melbourne, Australia, has been awarded a AUS $2.325 million Federal Government Modern Manufacturing Initiative grant to manufacture and commercialise low-carbon-emission (‘green’) titanium space vehicle demonstrator parts for the Australian space sector and export markets.
This grant will be part of a planned total eligible project expenditure of AUS$4.65 million, which will allow Titomic to use its Kinetic Fusion (TKF) cold spray Additive Manufacturing technology to build and commercialise space vehicle parts using green titanium, heterogeneous material blends, and high-performance coatings for radiation shielding and hypersonic protection.
Titomic, Swinburne University of Technology and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), will conduct extensive testing and validation of demonstrator parts produced within an Industry 4.0 AM platform embedded within its TKF technology.
Titomic is teaming with commercial partners, such as Inovor Technologies, Australia’s only sovereign commercial satellite manufacturer, to provide specific application use cases and establish performance, testing and acceptance requirements for the technologies. The AM capability is intended to drive high-value technological and material developments, accelerate space and manufacturing sector growth, create high-value jobs, and attract investment.
Professor Pascale Quester, vice-chancellor and president, Swinburne University of Technology, added, “We welcome this MMI space-based applications grant and hail both its educational potential and the economic value to Australia. Having the TKF1000 Additive Manufacturing system in the heart of Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus offers our students direct access to a world-leading technology facility in the growing advanced manufacturing and space sector – it’s a learning experience you cannot find anywhere else in Australia. We’re proud to be partnering with Titomic on this exciting new facility, and grateful to the Commonwealth Government for their foresight in funding a collaboration that will help shape our future economy.”
The grant project is scheduled to run until December 2022 and includes the supply of a Titomic TKF 1000 Additive Manufacturing machine to Swinburne University of Technology with Industry 4.0 AM platform embedded within its TKF technology.
Herbert Koeck, Titomic CEO, commented, “This $2.325 million Federal Government MMI grant awarded to Titomic showcases our ability to seamlessly integrate our custom cold spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) technology systems into partner supply chains, and Joint Venture partners in aerospace with shared risk and reward. This project allows us to show our unique capability to use industrial scale Additive Manufacturing to create world leading ‘low-carbon-footprint’ green titanium and high-performance coatings for satellites and space vehicles. Our supply of a TKF1000 System to Swinburne University of Technology with its Industry 4.0 Additive Manufacturing platform to drive high-value technological and material developments, will also accelerate space and manufacturing sector growth in Australia, creating high-value jobs, and attracting local investment.”
