What Macdiarmid Institute does

MacDiarmid Institute is a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence focused on advanced materials and nanotechnology. Hosted at Victoria University of Wellington and operating as a network across New Zealand universities, it conducts research for government and public-sector funders, industry partners, students and early-career researchers, and community audiences seeking applications in clean water, renewable energy, climate mitigation and sustainable resource use.

Its technical work is organized around four programmes: Towards Zero Waste (reconfigurable systems), Towards Zero Carbon (catalytic architectures), Towards Low Energy Tech (hardware for future computing), and Sustainable Resource Use / Pūtaiao Māori. The research portfolio includes metal-organic frameworks for gas storage and CO2 capture, nanoscale materials synthesis, rare-earth and transition-metal nitride materials, photovoltaic nanoparticle technologies and quantum-mechanical simulations of nanoscale materials.

The business model is grant- and partnership-funded rather than product-led: the institute receives New Zealand government support through CoRE, MBIE/Endeavour and Marsden mechanisms, forms industry collaborations, and commercializes research through spinout companies and university technology-transfer channels. Pricing for commercial products is not disclosed or generally applicable; the clearest scale signals are NZD $4.1 million and NZD $6.2 million Marsden funding rounds, 16 spinout companies over 15 years and an alumni base of more than 850.

Name

Macdiarmid Institute

Legal name

The MacDiarmid Institute of Materials and Nanotechnology

Website

https://macdiarmid.ac.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MacDiarmid Institute is a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence conducting advanced materials and nanotechnology research for government funders, industry partners, researchers and students, with outputs disseminated through collaborations, scholarships, public programmes and spinout companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Primary funding from New Zealand government through MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) Endeavour Fund, Marsden Fund grants, and Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) funding. Recent successes include $4.1 million Marsden Fund (2019) and $6.2 million Marsden Fund (2021).
2. Research Commercialization: Revenue generation through spinout companies created from institute research. In the past 15 years, 16 new companies have been spun out from research outcomes.
3. Industry Partnerships: Collaborative research agreements and technology transfer with existing industries for developing sustainable environmental innovations such as new solar cells or carbon capture technologies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The MacDiarmid Institute is a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence that conducts advanced materials and nanotechnology research through four flagship programmes: Towards Zero Waste (Reconfigurable Systems), Towards Zero Carbon (Catalytic Architectures), Towards Low Energy Tech (Hardware for Future Computing), and Sustainable Resource Use (Pūtaiao Māori Research Programme). It delivers research services, trains postgraduate researchers and postdocs, runs outreach programmes such as DiscoveryCamp and CRISP, and commercialises research through spinout companies such as Captivate, Permeance Limited, Opo Bio Limited, Liquium, and Publons (acquired by Clarivate Analytics).

Product overview

The MacDiarmid Institute is a Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) comprising a network of materials scientists, chemists, physicists, and engineers united to develop innovative, sustainable materials. The institute operates four research programmes (Towards Zero Waste, Towards Zero Carbon, Towards Low Energy Tech, and Pūtaiao Māori Research Programme) addressing global challenges like clean water, renewable energy, and climate change. Beyond research, the institute offers educational programmes (PhD/Masters scholarships, postdoctoral fellowships, business scholarships), community outreach (DiscoveryCamp, NanoCamp, Regional Lecture Series), media content (Sci Fi/Sci Fact podcast), and commercialisation pathways through spinout companies. The portfolio is research-output focused rather than commercial product-focused.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MESA (MacDiarmid Emerging Scientists Association): A community for early-career researchers within the MacDiarmid Institute
• DiscoveryCamp
• NanoCamp
• CRISP (Career and Relevant-to-Industry Skills Programme)
• Our Inspired One Hundred

Products and services

• Core Research Programmes Four flagship research programmes focused on sustainable advanced materials and nanotechnology: Towards Zero Waste (Reconfigurable Systems), Towards Zero Carbon (Catalytic Architectures), Towards Low Energy Tech (Hardware for Future Computing), and Sustainable Resource Use (Pūtaiao Māori Research Programme). Delivered as collaborative research services for government, industry, and academic partners.
• MacDiarmid Institute Spinout Companies Commercialisation pathway that creates independent spinout companies from institute research outputs across cleantech, materials science, nanotechnology, and biotechnology sectors; delivered as a service to researchers and external investors seeking research-backed ventures.
• PhD Scholarships Funded graduate research scholarships for students joining the institute's research network across five New Zealand universities; includes dedicated scholarships for Māori and Pacific Island students.
• Postdoctoral Fellowships Fellowship appointments for early-career researchers to conduct research within the institute's network across materials science and nanotechnology.
• Masters Scholarships Funded Masters-level research scholarships for students undertaking materials science and nanotechnology research within the institute's network.
• Business Scholarships Scholarships supporting industry-focused research collaborations and business engagement activities within the institute's network.
• Career and Relevant-to-Industry Skills Programme (CRISP) Professional development workshops for students and postdoctoral researchers covering industry-relevant skills and career preparation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 16 new companies spun out from research in 15 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Whakarewarewa Living VillagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with Whakarewarewa Living Village combining Mātauranga Māori and science. Memorandum of Understanding signed for collaboration on restoring health of culturally significant stream. Research combining pūtaiao Māori (Māori science knowledge) with modern materials science.
• Kyoto UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) opened an on-site laboratory in Wellington, operated jointly with the MacDiarmid Institute at Victoria University of Wellington in November 2021.
• Te Papa TongarewamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Te Papa Tongarewa museum to include future sustainability science in the new Te Taiao | Nature exhibition, showcasing scientists' work creating materials for energy technology key to mitigating climate change.
• House of SciencemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with House of Science to help take science out of the lab and make it accessible, exciting and inspiring for communities.
• The SpinoffminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership with The Spinoff for science communication and public engagement content.
• NanoGirl LabsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver science videos for children learning at home during lockdown periods.
• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Directors Nicola Gaston and Sally Brooker invited to join German Academic Exchange Service-funded delegation to Germany to strengthen international research connections.
• FLEET (ARC Centre of Excellence)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration with Australian FLEET (Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies) centre on liquid metals creating nanostructure research.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Brookhaven National Lab: US Department of Energy national laboratory with extensive condensed matter physics and materials research programs. Comparable in fundamental materials and nanotechnology research, but as a much larger government-funded institution with global collaboration networks.
• CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Australia's national science agency, with extensive materials, nanotechnology, and energy research programmes. Comparable in mission as a government-funded applied research organization, but operates at a materially larger scale and broader scope than the MacDiarmid Institute.
• Max Planck Institute for Materials Research: German national research institute focused on materials science, part of the Max Planck Society. Comparable in fundamental materials research mission and government funding model, but at a much larger scale with broader international reach.

Regional players

• MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (AU): Australian counterpart based at Monash University, also focused on advanced materials and nanotechnology research. Comparable in mission and research areas but operates across the Tasman, not directly competing for NZ government or talent pools.

Others

• Royal Society Te Apārangi: New Zealand's national academy of sciences, which administers research funding, fellowships, and medals (including the Thomson Medal and Dan Walls Medal awarded to MacDiarmid researchers). Comparable as an adjacent NZ research ecosystem participant and the awarding body for the institute's leadership.
• KiwiNet (Kiwi Innovation Network): NZ research commercialization network that runs the KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards won by MacDiarmid researchers. Comparable as a key channel/ecosystem partner that supports the institute's spinout pipeline and commercialization outcomes.

Direct peers

• Dodd-Walls Centre: New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) focused on photonics and quantum physics, hosted at the University of Otago. Directly comparable as a sibling CoRE funded by MBIE with the same governance and funding model, operating a multi-university research network across NZ.
• Riddet Institute: NZ CoRE focused on food and nutrition science, hosted at Massey University. Directly comparable as a sibling CoRE sharing the same MBIE funding architecture, multi-university network model, and commercialization-via-spinout approach in New Zealand.

Emerging players

• Captivate Technologies: Spinout from the MacDiarmid Institute founded by Prof. Shane Telfer, focused on commercializing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for gas storage, separations, and catalysis. Comparable as a portfolio company in the same materials/nanotech category, demonstrating the institute's commercialization pathway.
• FLEET (ARC Centre of Excellence): Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence focused on ultra-low-energy electronics, an existing MacDiarmid partner. Comparable in deep-tech low-energy computing materials research and academic CoRE operating model, with partial thematic overlap on nanostructured materials.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/macdiarmidinsti
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGE3eHhu52Xw-USYB8PiR-Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheMacDiarmidInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/the-macdiarmid-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/macdiarmidinsti
• TikToktiktok.com/@themacdiarmidinst?lang=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Macdiarmid Institute