Canyon and IperionX collaborate on titanium supply chain sustainability

Canyon Bicycles has announced a collaboration agreement with IperionX Limited (“IperionX”) to develop a more sustainable titanium supply chain through the production of bicycle components using IperionX’s 100% recycled and low carbon titanium.

The announcement from Canyon highlights the potential to develop bicycle components utilizing IperionX’s 100% recycled titanium aligns with its ambitions to drive the use of innovative material in the production process, and to match that with its environmental goals.

IperionX is reported to be working closely with Canyon’s product development and ESG teams to produce bicycle components using IperionX’s low-carbon, recycled titanium metal powders via additive manufacturing methods. The parties have agreed upon an initial project to prototype Canyon bicycle parts, including for bicycle frames, using IperionX’s 100% recycled titanium produced by IperionX via additive manufacturing methods.

Titanium as a frame material has a premium and desirable position for bicycle consumers, being both very strong and lightweight, including around half the weight of steel, as well as being extremely corrosion resistant, removing the requirement for paint as a corrosion inhibitor. However, until now, its utilization in bike components has been limited by its high cost compared to materials such as carbon frames, as well as the high-carbon footprint of the current titanium supply chain, which is based on the energy-intensive Kroll process.

The partnership between IperionX and Canyon represents another milestone in the rapidly growing, highly visible and sustainability focused global bicycle market, and complements IperionX’s recent partnerships in the luxury goods sector.

Alison Jones, Canyon Chief Operating Officer: “We’re delighted to have formed this working relationship with IperionX. Connecting IperionX to our product development and ESG teams is allowing us to identify bicycle components that can be produced using their low-cost, low-carbon, fully recycled titanium powders. This is a real breakthrough technology for us and we look forward to deploying this innovative technology in the production of more sustainable titanium for use in Canyon bicycles.

Anastasios (Taso) Arima, IperionX CEO and Managing Director: “Our partnership with Canyon highlights the importance of fully circular, sustainable materials to customers with leading environmental goals. We are very pleased to be applying the patented technologies to create 100% recycled titanium parts for a leading company in a very large addressable market, and we look forward to progressing the partnership towards the extended use of titanium in bicycle production.

Brand news

July of 2022 saw Canyon secure $30 million in investment from LRMR Ventures, the investment vehicle of NBA Basketball Legend LeBron James, and SC Holdings.