Our structure

Advanced manufacturing technologies

IRL's activities supporting the manufacturing sector are served by three science groups. These serve a wide range of New Zealand's existing manufacturing capabilities and additionally, in the case of the High Temperature Superconductors group, provide the growth engine for new industries.

Energy and Materials group

IRL’s Energy and Materials group focuses on the design, preparation and application of advanced materials for the development of novel products for the industrial, energy and infrastructure sectors. Its work spans the fields of advanced ceramics and cementing systems, green energy solutions, and emerging technologies such as photonics and microfluidics. Read more >>

Engineering and Applied Physics group

IRL’s Engineering and Applied Physics group applies its research to areas including advanced manufacturing and ICT^[?], biomedical imaging, materials testing, and polymers. Focus areas include the development of high-value industrial and medical applications including assistive devices as well as niche technologies that draw on expertise in electronics and software engineering, digital signal processing, sensors, computer vision, polymers and mechanical engineering. Read more >>

High Temperature Superconductors group

IRL and partners are developing HTS^[?] technologies for the scientific, medical, industrial and power industries. We are actively involved in materials and manufacturing process improvements for second-generation YBCO^[?] wire and our world-leading HTS programme supports HTS-110^[?] Limited, a spin-off company that designs and builds magnet products for scientific and industrial applications. Read more >>

Industrial biotechnologies

Focusing largely on human health and nutrition, the industrial biotechnology cluster leverages both IRL's world-leading expertise in the field of carbohydrate chemistry to develop active pharmaceutical ingredients and some of the many and varied properties found in New Zealand's wealth of unique biodiversity, which our Integrated Bioactive Technologies group extracts to develop pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. 

Carbohydrate Chemistry group

The Carbohydrate Chemistry group specialises in the rational design and synthesis of carbohydrate-based drug candidates and in the isolation and characterisation of carbohydrate-containing products from natural sources. The group also provides high-quality, fast-paced drug discovery and bench-level synthesis of organic compounds to global clients. Read more >>

Integrated Bioactive Technologies group

The Integrated Bioactive Technologies group discovers and develops pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals based on lipids and other natural products. Our research and development services include processing, extraction, identification and enzymatic/chemical modifications of natural compounds. We are recognised as the southern hemisphere’s leader in supercritical fluid extraction technology. Read more >>

GlycoSyn

GlycoSyn is a business unit of IRL that works closely with biotechnology clients around the globe to ensure high-quality and fast-paced development of high-value small molecules. Drawing upon world-class people, skills, facilities and equipment, GlycoSyn is your first-choice partner for the development and production of complex active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for pre-clinical and clinical drug development programmes. View the GlycoSyn website.

Measurement standards

Measurement Standards Laboratory

The Measurement Standards Laboratory of New Zealand (MSL^[?]) is New Zealand's national metrology institute, operating within IRL under the authority of the Measurement Standards Act 1992. MSL ensures that New Zealand's units of measurement are consistent with the International System of Units, the SI, and provides clients with the most accurate calibration service in the country for a wide range of instruments and artefacts. Read more >>