A University of Canterbury (UC) engineering researcher turned entrepreneur is among the winners of the KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards last night.
UC Master of Engineering graduate Jonathan Ring.
UC Master of Engineering graduate Jonathan Ring won the Breakthrough Innovator Award for Zincovery, his company that is decarbonising zinc recycling.
Ring began developing the technology for Zincovery during his master's thesis study with co-founder Professor Aaron Marshall at the UC. The innovative technology recycles zinc from galvanised steel five times more efficiently than traditional methods, making it a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative. The global market opportunity for the technology is estimated at over $10 billion per annum and growing.
In two years, Ring has transformed the technology from his master's project into a startup company employing seven people.
The Kiwinet awards finalists included UC Distinguished Professor Maggie-Lee Huckabee in the Researcher Entrepreneur category for her innovative technologies for rehabilitation of swallowing impairment, and UC Product Design and Commerce student Ben Scales, who is co-founder and CEO of next-gen materials startup KiwiFibre, in the Momentum Student Entrepreneur category.
The KiwiNet Awards celebrate the scientific discoveries being successfully developed and launched into the market from New Zealand universities and other research organisations and their impact on Aotearoa and beyond.
