Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, CEO of the CSIR;
CSIR Board Members and Executive Management;
Colleagues from National Treasury, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Mineral Resources, and the Industrial Development Corporation;
Researchers from science councils and universities;
Leaders in business and industry partners;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting me to speak at the launch of this milestone facility, as we progress towards developing "A new South African titanium industry".
Context setting
The Department of Science and Technology is leading a national programme to develop a titanium metal industry in South Africa, the establishment of which has been identified as a key growth area. To achieve this, we are embarking on a Titanium Industry Development Programme under the auspices of the Titanium Centre of Competence, managed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This builds on our investments in the Advanced Metals Initiative since 2003.
This national programme for developing a titanium metal industry was adopted by the Economic Sectors and Employment Cluster in 2008, and an interdepartmental steering committee was established comprising my department, the Departments of Trade and Industry, Public Enterprises, and Mineral Resources, and the Industrial Development Corporation.
We are pleased to note the commendable results of our investments in research and development, human capital development and technology infrastructure since 2006. This includes a major laboratory-scale breakthrough in the production of titanium metal powder using a novel continuous process instead of the more conventional batch process. This proprietary technology offers significant cost and efficiency advantages, and is expected to give South Africa a comparative advantage in the production of titanium metal and finished products.
Titanium metal powder is regarded as the product of the future. Currently, the predominant form of raw titanium metal in the market is titanium sponge. This sponge must be re-melted and refined before the metal can be used to manufacture intermediate mill products and finished components. A powder form of the metal, on the other hand, makes it possible to avoid the melting and milling of the metal, which dramatically improves the efficiency of production and lowers the costs.
South Africa has achieved important technological advances in the production of fabricated products using metal powder. We are casting titanium metal into complex components for customised biomedical implants that are made to "near net shape". The Central University of Technology has developed a world class competence in the direct manufacture of medical implants by the laser sintering of titanium powder, and a number of patients around the world have already benefited from this technology, which is moving into commercialisation during this year.
A novel high-speed additive manufacturing technology is also under development in collaboration with industry for the manufacture of near net shape titanium metal components at a scale of 2 metres by 600 millimetres. This technology could be used to produce large titanium parts for aircraft, and has attracted the interest of global aerospace players. This will position South Africa to produce high-value components for global aircraft manufacturers and expand the country's participation in the global aerospace supply chains.
Essential capability has been built, including the development of 61 postgraduate students and the filing of four patents in the primary and downstream production processes of titanium.
The launch of the titanium bench-scale pilot plant facility is significant in many respects. It represents a key step in the development of the primary titanium powder process and is the first up-scaling stage of the process.
I must stress that this is a bench-scale pilot plant. It is still a research facility, the output of which will be an essential milestone in determining whether or not to proceed to a full commercial-scale demonstrator plant.
The significance of a titanium pilot plant
This pilot plant that we are launching today will produce titanium metal powder at a rate of approximately 2 kg per hour.
The main objectives of the pilot include:
- reducing the technical and financial risks for scaling up the selected technology to produce titanium powder, which is essential for the success of the titanium metal industrial development plan.
- reducing marketing risks by producing sufficient quantities of titanium powder product that can be tested by potential customers of the product.
- facilitating the development of downstream processing technologies that are currently being researched in the Titanium Centre of Competence to consolidate the CSIR titanium metal powder into mill products and final products.
- providing an experiential training facility for future employees of the envisaged 500 ton per year demonstration scale plant before such employees begin to operate the demonstration plant.
- providing a facility for on-going technology development to extend the range of products (e.g. pre-alloyed titanium powder in addition to commercially pure grade titanium powder).
This, we believe, will aid the route from laboratory-scale achievements to full-scale commercial production. If the bench-scale pilot plant phase is successful, a 500 ton per annum test facility will be constructed, probably in 2017, to demonstrate the continuous production of low-cost titanium on an industrial scale. This test facility will be crucial in attracting private sector financing to support the development of a full commercial-scale 20 000 ton per annum plant that can deliver titanium powder to market by 2022.
A new South African titanium industry
South Africa is the world's second largest producer of the mineral ore from which titanium metal is made, but adds little value to the mineral before export. The properties of titanium (strength, high melting point, low weight, corrosion resistance, elasticity, biocompatibility and compatibility with composites) make it a sought after material for a range of applications in multiple industries, such as the aerospace, industrial, automotive, medical and architectural sectors.
The development of a titanium industry across the entire value-chain, from the raw mineral to primary metal powder and ultimately to the forming of metal mill products (plates, bars, tubes) and components (metal castings, machining and components manufacturing) is one of the initiatives in a portfolio of R&D-led industry development initiatives that my department is championing. This is driven by the National Research and Development Strategy's focus on natural-resource-based industries, and is aligned to the National Development Plan, the National Beneficiation Strategy and the Industrial Policy Action Plan.
Our investments, supported by an interdepartmental steering committee, are informed by extensive due diligence and detailed independent techno-economic feasibility studies. These defined the nature of research and development and industry demonstration support required in order to create the requisite titanium production competencies. The economic potential and advantages of a South African proprietary titanium production process were also confirmed. The estimated production cost for powder using the novel process is similar to that of sponge, while the value of powder is currently five to 30 times that of sponge. On the basis of the feasibility analysis, it is estimated that the primary production of titanium metal powder alone could generate annual revenues of R3 to 5 billion and create 400 to 500 new, high-quality manufacturing jobs.
Concluding remarks
South Africa has new capabilities that position it to emerge as a world leader in the cost-competitive production of high-grade titanium metal powder.
Furthermore, the successes achieved in the casting and additive manufacturing processes will collectively assist efforts to develop a new titanium industry in South Africa.
This event is an important opportunity to celebrate the technological successes we have made in advancing South Africa's position in the global titanium industry.
Thank you.
