New Zealand Research Commercialisation Success Stories

Below are some examples of projects that have been successfully commercialised by Universities and CRIs and have the potential to generate significant economic returns for New Zealand. Not all projects have had KiwiNet involvement.

The X factor inside waste-free buildings

The X factor inside waste-free buildings

Structural frame solutions for waste-free buildings could totally transform the way we think about buildings.

Cultivating the culinary delights of New Zealand’s native mushrooms

Cultivating the culinary delights of New Zealand’s native mushrooms

Spectacular new varieties of mushrooms introduced to restaurant dining experiences.

Avalia Immunotherapies

Avalia Immunotherapies

Avalia Immunotherapies is fighting cancer, hepatitis, and now COVID-19

Calocurb

Calocurb

Calocurb® eyes global expansion with exponential year-on-year growth

First Watch

First Watch

WaikatoLink’s cybersecurity software gains significant seed funding

Wakefield Raspberry

Wakefield Raspberry

Global demand for Wake®Field raspberry drives further investment

Ligar

Ligar

Wintec and WaikatoLink’s Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Invert Robotics

Invert Robotics

Christchurch-based Invert Robotics expands further into global markets with robotic non-destructive inspection services

Marama Labs

Marama Labs

Enabling the next generation of winemakers with new analytical tools

Innovative Rat Lures

Innovative Rat Lures

New innovative rat lures attract global interest.

Associate Professor Cather Simpson - University of Auckland

Associate Professor Cather Simpson - University of Auckland

From Sensors to Sperm Sorting - Lighting up NZ’s Economy with Lasers

Dr Daniel Holland, University of Canterbury

Dr Daniel Holland, University of Canterbury

Mathematics Plus Measurements Equals Economic Benefit

University of Canterbury & Canterbury Scientific Ltd: Biotechnology partnership

University of Canterbury & Canterbury Scientific Ltd: Biotechnology partnership

Partnering on long term and higher risk research projects to address significant, global diagnostic health problems

Callaghan Innovation & Manuka Health: CycloPower

Callaghan Innovation & Manuka Health: CycloPower

CycloPower™ dietary supplements manufactured and powered by a partnership between Manuka Health and Callaghan Innovation

Dr Carla Meledandri - University of Otago, The MacDiarmid Institute

Dr Carla Meledandri - University of Otago, The MacDiarmid Institute

Harnessing silver nanoparticles to treat and prevent dental disease

Dr Robert Hill - Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University

Dr Robert Hill - Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University

Helping key industries to save millions - boosting plant growth and keeping disease under wraps

Dr Stephen Moratti - University of Otago

Dr Stephen Moratti - University of Otago

Healing Gels from Natural products

StretchSense: Soft Wear by StretchSense

StretchSense: Soft Wear by StretchSense

Unleashing fashion on technology: making wearable tech invisible

Plant & Food Research: vitalvegetables®

Plant & Food Research: vitalvegetables®

High value functional vegetables

Scion & Sonae Industria: Woodforce

Scion & Sonae Industria: Woodforce

Working with an International partner to commercialise high performance wood fibre-reinforced plastics

AgResearch - ZeaKal

AgResearch - ZeaKal

International spin out supports the commercialization of plant biotechnology in New Zealand

Plant & Food Research Revolutionising Plant Variety Commercialisation

Plant & Food Research Revolutionising Plant Variety Commercialisation

An Evolution from Transactional Plant Sales Based Royalties to Participation in Commercial Success

Plant & Food Research and Zespri’s Response to the Psa Outbreak

Plant & Food Research and Zespri’s Response to the Psa Outbreak

One Team - Science and Industry Joining Forces to Save an Industry

The Biopolymer Network Ltd & Barnes Plastics

The Biopolymer Network Ltd & Barnes Plastics

Zealafoam™ - An Exciting and Sustainable Alternative to Polystyrene

Comvita New Zealand Limited and Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology

Comvita New Zealand Limited and Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology

Accelerating Innovation Together to Deliver Commercial Success

Dr. Ron Beatson

Dr. Ron Beatson

New Zealand’s Hops Man – A Lifetime in Search of Flavour

Prof Andy Buchanan

Prof Andy Buchanan

Leading a Vision of Multi-story Buildings from Renewable Resources

Prof Phil Butler

Prof Phil Butler

Creating a Colour CT Imaging Industry for NZ

Dr Stephen J. Sowerby

Dr Stephen J. Sowerby

Facilitating Academic Culture Change with an Applied Science Exemplar of Commercial Innovation

11Ants Analytics

11Ants Analytics

Big Data Software Creating International Interest.

Cawthron Natural Compounds

Cawthron Natural Compounds

The Cawthron Institute in Nelson is one of only a few organisations in the world capable of producing purified marine natural toxins.

Biocontrol for Vegetables

Biocontrol for Vegetables

Lincoln University intends to develop a commercially viable live spore product to protect high value vegetables against soil-borne pathogens.

WETOX

WETOX

WETOX is a technology out of the University of Victoria that seeks to provide an economic and environmentally friendly way of disposing of waste sludge products.

HyLink

HyLink

Callaghan Innovation has developed the HyLink System which can provide a cost effective sustainable energy solution from 100% renewable resources.

Chronoptics

Chronoptics

The University of Waikato's Chronoptics Group have developed a suite of technologies that are proven to improve the quality and performance of time-of-flight cameras for 3D imaging.

Hotels for Chelifers

Hotels for Chelifers

Development of a novel beneficial method for biocontrol of varroa mite in commercial honey hives.

Amaranth Protein

Amaranth Protein

The Biopolymer Network have developed a process to produce an extract that is expected to deliver 3 beauty outcomes; skin whitening, hair strengthening, and skin cell protection.

CEMARS Energy

CEMARS Energy

Landcare Research, through their subsidiary Enviro-Mark Solutions, has developed an integrated carbon and energy management system in response to UK regulation.

Probiotics For Farmed Fish

Probiotics For Farmed Fish

The University of Canterbury is seeking to commercialise a fish feed additive for salmon farming, which could significantly decrease cost of fish feed and omega-3 additives used in salmon aquaculture.

Titanium Powder Metallurgy

Titanium Powder Metallurgy

The TiTeNZ collaboration has created a platform for high value manufacturing in NZ, resulting in the commercialisation of several exciting new technologies.

You could sum up Alistair’s work in one sentence: Which is helping the seafood industry become more sustainable and more profitable

Danette Olsen - General Manager Seafood, Plant and Food Research

Alistair Jerrett

Alistair Jerrett

Alistair has a vision of a New Zealand seafood industry that has a national and international reputation for ethically harvested and high quality fish.

All those research organisations have a direct commercial focus and link, so they are collaborating with commercial firms who are part of the research and development, and have very clear outcomes they require with respect to the commercial product. Key to collaboration is having clarity of purpose.

KiwiNet offers a unique opportunity to change the dynamic between New Zealand's public research organisations.

David Hughes – General Manager Commercial, Plant & Food Research

Species Selective Rodenticide

Species Selective Rodenticide

Landcare Research has developed a rodenticide that is targeted at rats, while proving relatively harmless to other rodents and mammals.

Filter technology delivers exceptional purity at industrial scale

Filter technology delivers exceptional purity at industrial scale

Researchers have developed a smart polymer (MIPS) that can selectively remove molecules from solutions, opening up a range of industrial applications.

Kifunensine Serendipity

Kifunensine Serendipity

A rare sugar, developed by Glycosyn, is a crucial ingredient in the manufacture therapeutic for the treatment of a rare genetic disorder.

Rapid Point Cloud Viewer

Rapid Point Cloud Viewer

ESR's Rapid Point Cloud Viewer is a user friendly piece of software than can make processing laser scan data a part of anyone's everyday workflow.

SpringFree™ Trampoline

SpringFree™ Trampoline

Dr Keith Alexander redesigned how a recreational trampoline works to make it safe for his kids. This Kiwi invention became US product of the year.

KiwiNet, and the Investment Committee in particular, is a great example of New Zealand research institutions collaborating in an open and transparent manner to achieve best outcomes.

Tim Balmer – Director Investments & Commercialisation, Callaghan Innovation Research Ltd

Ian Yule

Ian Yule

Precision agriculture technology - pasture and crop sensing

High Performance Schottky Contacts

High Performance Schottky Contacts

Researchers from the University of Canterbury are looking to commercialise the next generation of thin film transistors for flat panel displays.

Localised Water Heating

Localised Water Heating

An exciting new platform technology is emerging from the University of Waikato – with the first commercial application being rapid water heating in domestic households.

New Bio Pesticide For Psa-V

New Bio Pesticide For Psa-V

Plant & Food Research is developing a new biopesticide to manage the kiwifruit disease Psa, to help with protecting kiwifruit export revenues for New Zealand.

Precision SeaFood Harvesting

Precision SeaFood Harvesting

Plant & Food Research is working in partnership with industry and government to transform the way New Zealand, and eventually the world, fishes.

C-DAX Pasture Meter

C-DAX Pasture Meter

Massey University's New Zealand Centre for Precision Agriculture, in partnership with C-Dax, has filled a gap in the market for a more efficient means of pasture measurement.

Reliable Production Of Juvenile Hapūku

Reliable Production Of Juvenile Hapūku

NIWA is seeking to develop a procedure for the reliable and cost-efficient production of hapūku juveniles, as a basis for a profitable hapūku farming industry to develop in New Zealand.

Minimising Bovine Tuberculosis

Minimising Bovine Tuberculosis

A collaboration between Landcare Research and TBfree New Zealand has led to a large-scale disease eradication initiative previously thought impossible.

DME Extraction Technology

DME Extraction Technology

Callaghan Innovation is looking to demonstrate the commercial suitability of their dimethyl ether (DME) processing technology, with the application of extracting carotenoids from natural products.

Our Partnership with Massey has really been fundamental in our growth. The research and the stage that we’re at in our product development is streets ahead in some instances of what is going on around the rest of the world. That partnership with Massey has given us not only the knowledge, but the confidence to go you there and market our products to the best in the world.

Our Partnership with Massey has really been fundamental in our growth. The research and the stage that we’re at in our product development is streets ahead in some instances of what is going on around the rest of the world. That partnership with Massey has given us not only the knowledge, but the confidence to go you there and market our products to the best in the world.

Jennifer Boggis, Director Heilala Vanilla

Massey University and Heilala Vanilla

Massey University and Heilala Vanilla

United by a passion for the world's most sensual and exotic flavour producing products used by the food industry around the globe.

STRmix™ Resolve more DNA Mixtures

STRmix™ Resolve more DNA Mixtures

STRmix™ technology allows more complex DNA signatures to be interpreted, providing more reliable, robust and defensible evidence in court.

Controlling Insects with Sex

Controlling Insects with Sex

Using pheromones for sustainable pest control

Collaborating with Plant and Food and Etec has been very successful and something of a meeting of the minds, they have very good science, we have people on the ground and the commercial and market support. Working together as a cohesive team has been really productive

John Read, Managing Director, Etec Crop Solutions

The team at Tait and the team at Wireless Research Centre have worked very closely and very collaboratively and what has resulted has been the degree of confidence and trust where we know that the intellectual properties that are being generated are being put to good use

Fred Samandari, Spatial Engineering Research Centre, University of Canterbury

Wireless Network Partnership

Wireless Network Partnership

Commercialisation of fundamental wireless research to create global export earnings

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality

Mobile tech that blurs the line between reality and possibility attracts buyers

Aldera Health

Aldera Health

A collaboration to develop an animal and plant corridor in New Zealand.

Callaghan Innovation

Callaghan Innovation

This research consortium aims to enhance sheep processing productivity and quality through the use of automation.

Land Use Change & Intensification

Land Use Change & Intensification

Aiming to ensure that the productive capacity of New Zealand's agricultural land is sustained or enhanced

Dr John Abrahamson - ArcActive

Dr John Abrahamson - ArcActive

Hybrid Battery Innovation

Being able to tap into the hard-won knowledge and networks from other KiwiNet members has been enormously valuable.

Dr Nigel Johnson, Director of Research & Innovation at the University of Canterbury

Through KiwiNet ESR was able to access resources, advice and expertise that wasn't previously available to us, and which gave us the confidence to step into new areas.

Hamish Findlay - Forensic Business and Commercial Manager, ESR

Auckland University of Technology

Auckland University of Technology

Growing the New Zealand surf clam industry with the Cloudy Bay Group

Advanced Sonar Technology

Advanced Sonar Technology

Callaghan Innovation & Electronic Navigation Limited

Lincoln University

Lincoln University

New Zealand Seed Industry Alliance

Grasslanz Technology Limited

Grasslanz Technology Limited

Delivering innovative plant technologies

Otago Innovation

Otago Innovation

TOXINZ Database Success

WaikatoLink - Aduro Biopolymers

WaikatoLink - Aduro Biopolymers

Bloodmeal to Bioplastic

Magritek

Magritek

Magritek is a business which grew out of a decade of world-class research at both Victoria and Massey universities to manufacture products based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology.

ZyGEM

ZyGEM

ZyGEM™ Corporation Limited is a rapidly growing biotechnology company with innovative enzyme-based products and technologies developed from our exclusive collection of microorganisms from extreme environments.

With the Kiwi Innovation Network we have an exciting opportunity to develop strong relationships with the current and future partners... This new found scale and breadth of expertise across new sectors, regions, and networks makes KiwiNet a significant and distinct player internationally, something as a small entity in a small region distant from major markets we could not have achieved.

Duncan Mackintosh – CEO, WaikatoLink Ltd, the commercialisation office of the University of Waikato

Eco-n™

Eco-n™

Eco-n™ is a product that reduces the environmental impacts of dairy farming and increases farm productivity and sustainability.

Dr Anna Henning, Victoria University of Wellington & Boutiq

Dr Anna Henning, Victoria University of Wellington & Boutiq

Embracing a Boutiq opportunity: Leading nanomaterials from the lab to the world

HTS-110 magnetic solutions

HTS-110 magnetic solutions

HTS-110 is the world's leading company in the development of magnetic solutions utilising high temperature superconducting wire.

General Cable Superconductors

General Cable Superconductors

General Cable Superconductors specialises in the production of 2nd generation HTS Roebel cable, blending cutting edge research with an extensive background in cable manufacture.

ArcActive

ArcActive

ArcActive Limited was spun out by Research & Innovation, at the University of Canterbury, to commercialise diverse applications of a unique carbon nanotube-laden substrate developed using a continuous, novel and inexpensive method of depositing carbon nanotubes on conducting substrates.

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