Is Johnathan Ring from Zincovery, University of Canterbury which is decarbonising zinc recycling.

The award recognises an upcoming entrepreneurial researcher who is embracing opportunities to commercialise their research.

Zincovery CEO and founder Jonathan Ring.

Useful and ubiquitous, loved for its durability, galvanised steel has provided industry, homes, hospitals and critical infrastructure with an attractive, corrosion-resistant, hygienic material for 150 years.

However, few have thought about the toxic environmental impact of this process or the cost of recovery. Fewer still have made inroads to a solution.

That was until Jonathan Ring, Founder and CEO of Zincovery, developed a disruptive technology to recycle zinc from furnace waste. One of its key benefits is the ability to produce zinc with 70% less carbon emissions than the existing recycling process.

Jonathan started the development of the ‘Zincovery’ technology during his Master’s project with Professor Aaron Marshall at the University of Canterbury.

Jonathan is committed to fighting climate change and protecting the environment from pollution. Current zinc recycling methods result in large carbon emissions and significant material wastage; Jonathan is determined to change that.

The Zincovery technology can recycle zinc and produce less than 1 tonne of CO2 per tonne of zinc (typically recycled zinc requires five or more) using an innovative, low-temperature furnace process.

The technology has the potential to save isolated steel mills over $500,000 in transportation costs and reduce the landfilling of over 3 million tonnes of dust per year. The global market opportunity for the technology is estimated at over $10 billion per annum and growing.

Jonathan has taken his Master’s project from the lab to a start-up company in just two years and now manages seven employees. Under Jonathan’s lead, Zincovery has secured significant private investment, was awarded the prestigious C-Prize in 2019/20 and has customers lined up across multiple continents.

Further information on entrants can be found in August issue of NZ Manufacturer.