Funds boost for hi-tech materials

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's respiratory humidifier system, developed in the 1970s, was the "poster child" for the programme.

A multi-materials development programme, led by the University of Auckland, aims to get research and development out of the lab and into the production lines of Kiwi manufacturers.

The Materials Accelerator - a partnership between four universities and three Crown Research Institutes - was established to help manufacturers combine materials which can add value to their products.

The programme, based at the University of Auckland's Tamaki Campus, has received $9.6 million in Government funding, administered by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, to be used over the next four years.

Manufacturers involved would put money made from research developments back into the programme to keep it sustainable.

Anne French, general manager of the Materials Accelerator, said Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's respiratory humidifier system, developed in the 1970s, was the "poster child" for the programme.

"It uses 11 different materials ... it's a prime example of what we mean," she said.

French said manufacturers often encountered problems when they tried to combine materials. "So what we have done is bring a whole bunch of researchers who are experts in particular materials and materials characterisation, and also virtual prototyping, so we can work with companies to get them further up the value chain," she said.

French said the programme had the potential to contribute up to $1 billion to New Zealand's economy.

Discoveries made by the programme would be developed for use in a range of companies.

"It's a condition of the foundation's funding that we can't just create benefit for this company or that company - we're trying to create a much broader economic benefit than that."

She said virtual prototyping technology used - that enabled the prototype phase of product development to be done electronically - was less time- consuming and expensive than "old- fashioned" methods.

Professor Ralph Cooney, science leader for the programme, said developing multi-material products for export was a time-consuming, expensive and beyond the capabilities of most companies.

"The Materials Accelerator, with its extensive research and industry collaborations, has the potential to turbo-charge the development of high-technology exports," he said.

The Materials Accelerator is working with Framecad, a company that has developed an end-to-end design and manufacturing system that constructs steel framing for buildings on site.

Framecad chief executive Mark Taylor said the company was 96 per cent export-focused, and to export effectively it needed to develop new technology and knowledge.

"We see the opportunity of working in partnership with the Materials Accelerator as a way to keep driving the innovation process," he said.

The Materials Accelerator is also developing new products with Altitude Aerospace Interiors, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand that fits out aircraft interiors.