Boeing and CSIR agree to develop titanium powder for manufacturing
June 11, 2013
Boeing and South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have announced that they will cooperate on developing ways to incorporate titanium powder into novel industrial manufacturing processes and products.
This mutually beneficial agreement, bolstered by South Africa’s rich titanium ore reserves, supports the nation’s long-term economic development goals that include the supply of titanium to many industries, including aerospace, stated the report.
South Africa currently has the world’s second-largest reserves of titanium ore and CSIR has developed an innovative process that converts titanium tetrachloride to titanium powder. On June 7 2013 CSIR launched a bench-scale Titanium Pilot Plant to spearhead the up-scaling of this technology.
“Our research and development agreement with CSIR adds a new dimension to Boeing engagement in South Africa,” stated J Miguel Santos, Boeing International Vice President for Africa. “We are collaborating to advance South Africa’s development in the aviation industry, which will increase the competitiveness of Boeing products.”
Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) will oversee the company’s research activity in Africa’s largest economy. As Boeing’s advanced R&D organisation, BR&T is focused on developing future aerospace solutions and improving the cycle time, cost, quality and performance of current aerospace systems. BR&T conducts its own research and works with partners around the world to find technologies that are innovative and affordable.
