Ārohia Trailblazer Grant

Millions of adults and children globally suffer from chronic gastric symptoms that profoundly affect their quality of life. Diagnosis often takes a number of years, prolonging patient suffering and resulting in wasted resources and inefficiencies in the healthcare system. With the help of the Ārohia Trailblazer Innovation Grant, Alimetry Care, the organisation’s latest device and service, is set to become the world’s first accurate monitoring wearable for home use, providing remote care for people suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms.

Solid waste is an inevitable by-product of most industrial manufacturing processes and its disposal can be costly, both for businesses and for the environment. Avertana’s proprietary technology refines industrial waste streams from steelmaking into valuable mineral and chemical products with less cost and CO2 emissions, using innovative chemistry and novel process design. With the help of the Ārohia Trailblazer Innovation Grant, Avertana is working to create more sustainable, resilient supply chains by lowering the cost and environmental impact of essential raw materials used to make everyday products.

Basis has developed the world's first residential smart panel – designed to replace the old-school switchboard. It enables homeowners to reduce their electricity costs, make their homes dramatically safer and lower barriers to adopting important electrification technologies, such as EV, battery and solar.

Graphite is a major component of lithium-ion batteries, which power the many devices and vehicles we use every day. However, as market demand for lithium-ion batteries skyrockets driven by the electrification economy, so too does the environmental cost. Ārohia Trailblazer Grant recipient’s CarbonScape are the first company in the world to pioneer technology for creating sustainable, carbon negative biographite for the battery sector, using renewable forestry waste such as woodchips.

Space junk, carbon emissions and ease of access are all causes for concern in the aerospace industry. Dawn Aerospace, recipients of the Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer grant, wants to enable the next generation of space users by providing more sustainable and scalable ways to access and move around in orbit. They believe this access, in the form of their transportation network, will fundamentally change what’s possible from space.

Fabrum’s newest pieces of technology will enable customers in a broad range of sectors to transition to zero-loss liquid hydrogen handling and storage. The result is a potential 25% cost reduction per kg, helping to drive demand for green hydrogen and associated technologies, along with a reduction in emissions.

The world of implantable medical devices is a fascinating and evolving market that has traditionally been full of passive devices (such as hip joints) and active stimulatory devices (such as pacemakers). Kitea Health, recipients of the Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer Grant, are leading the advancement of this area with their implantable pressure sensor devices that allow proactive management of chronic disease. The micro devices provide real time, accurate monitoring information to clinicians, so they can provide treatment early.

Leaft Foods, recipient of the Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer grant, is pioneering the sustainable leaf protein industry. By commercialising the production of Rubisco, a leaf-derived protein, they aim to establish a value chain that leverages local growers, infrastructure, and supply chain partnerships to create a low impact, high value protein and range of sustainable ingredients.

Concrete is the most used product in the world, after water. Our civilisation is literally built on it. But cement, concrete’s key ingredient, accounts for 8% of global greenhouse emissions. Ārohia Trailblazer Neocrete are using Roman innovation and nanotechnology to replace cement in concrete with activated volcanic ash, with no loss in workability or strength.

The treatment of acute stroke is a race against time that requires swift access to computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging - a hospital-based diagnostic technology that currently only 10% of the global population can access. With the help of the Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer grant, Wellumio is creating a future where anybody, anywhere, suspected of a stroke can receive a pre-hospital diagnosis and begin life-changing treatments within the golden hour.

Zincovery has pioneered a recycling solution that reduces emissions by up to 95% and processing costs by 45%. The end output is a 100% recycled, low carbon and high purity zinc product that’s currently not available despite customer demand. Plus, the process also generates a highly valuable, low-impact black iron oxide pigment as a co-product.