---
title: "Charles Darwin University leads on project to produce naval-grade alloy parts for Australian defense"
url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/charles-darwin-university-leads-on-project-to-produce-naval-grade-alloy-parts-for-australian-defense/
date: 2026-04-16
modified: 2026-04-16
lang: en
author: "Joseph Caron-Dawe"
description: "Charles Darwin University (CDU) is leading a new project to produce nickel-aluminum-bronze (NAB) parts using SPEE3D's cold spray manufacturing (CSM) technology, with the aim of testing their behavior in seawater...."
categories:
  - "AM Research"
  - "Defense"
  - "Maritime Industry"
  - "Metal Additive Manufacturing"
tags:
  - "insights"
image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/CDU-NAB-cold-spray-project-640x400.jpg
word_count: 394
---

# Charles Darwin University leads on project to produce naval-grade alloy parts for Australian defense

[Charles Darwin University (CDU)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/charles-darwin-university-leads-on-1-2-million-robotic-road-repair-system/) is leading a new project to produce nickel-aluminum-bronze (NAB) parts using SPEE3D's cold spray manufacturing (CSM) technology, with the aim of testing their behavior in seawater.

[NAB is widely used in naval propulsion systems, aircraft landing gear bearings, and marine propellers and pumps](https://www.voxelmatters.com/aml3d-secures-1-8-million-contract-to-3d-print-replacement-parts-for-us-navy-submarines/) due to its strength, wear resistance, and corrosion properties. Despite this prevalence, traditional manufacturing of NAB alloys in Australia has been blighted by slow and complex production processes.

Lead researcher and CDU Research Professor Kannnoorpatti Krishnan stated that the project would address a need for corrosion-resistant materials in propulsion systems to serve the Australian Defence Force.

![SPEE3D](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/spee3d--340x227.jpeg)SPEE3D's XSPEE3D.

“This reduces downtime, strengthens resilience in forward operating bases, and ensures continued operational effectiveness in contested maritime environments,” Krishnan said. “The project also secures a strategic advantage by generating new knowledge of material behavior in Pacific tropical waters, where microbial communities are unique and largely unstudied.

“In terms of sovereign industry capability, the project builds a uniquely Australian supply chain by combining SPEE3D's deployable additive manufacturing platform with academic expertise in materials, chemistry, and marine science.”

SPEE3D Chief Technology Officer Steven Camilleri said there was “enormous potential” for [cold spray additive manufacturing to address repair, maintenance, and sustainment challenges](https://www.voxelmatters.com/university-of-utah-joins-nasa-backed-cold-spray-am-research-for-rocket-engine-alloys/) in Pacific maritime environments.

“If NAB can be printed with a demonstrated equivalence to qualified cast materials, the opportunity is far more than novelty,” Camilleri said. “It represents the recovery of a strategically important maritime alloy; one that, when produced using additive manufacturing techniques, means parts will become more readily available through a faster, more local, and more controllable production route.”

## Multi-institution collaboration

The project has received funding from the Queensland Defence Sciences Alliance (QDSA) and brought together CDU, James Cook University (JCU), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) — through its National Sea Simulator (SeaSim) in Townsville — and SPEE3D.

JCU Distinguished Professor Peter Junk said his university's contributions would center on rare earth incorporation into the NAB base alloy. “Our team will assist with using surface techniques to understand the microstructure of the alloys and aged samples after field trials,” Junk said. “We will also work on characterizing the corrosion performance of the various NAB alloys under variable simulated seawater conditions, to be conducted at the Australian Institute of Marine Science in its seawater simulator that can modify pH, salinity, temperature, and flow.”