After careful evaluation, the jury selected three winning teams:

1st place: Never Shu team (Foam Steel): Nian Hong and Shuangfei Yan from Shanghai University in China The winning concept was recognised for its innovative approach to foam steel and sandwich structures, enabling lightweight, high-performance applications with strong potential for large-scale adoption. The team is awarded €5000 and a study trip to Höganäs.
2nd place: ReGenFoam: Akshay Bankar from Nit Trichy (National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli) in India The concept was recognised for its innovative approach to iron-based porous structures, enabling more efficient and sustainable industrial filtration solutions with strong scalability potential. The team is awarded €2500.

3rd place: Ipanema Alloys:
Camili Baldessini and Desirée Gomes Heleno Rita from University of Campinas in Brazil
The concept was recognised for its advanced use of metal powder-based catalytic structures, enabling more efficient conversion of greenhouse gases and supporting future energy systems. The team is awarded €1000.

Höganäs would like to thank all participants for their contributions. The high level of innovation reflects the important role of metal powders in enabling more sustainable industrial solutions.

The PowdrIQ challenge was initiated to explore new applications for metal powders and to inspire the next generation of engineers. While metal powders already enable high-performance and resource-efficient solutions across many industries, there is still potential to explore new applications. Through PowdrIQ, Höganäs aims to identify opportunities where metal powder-based solutions can contribute to improved efficiency, performance and sustainability.

“As this was the first year of the PowdrIQ University challenge, we are impressed by both the quality and diversity of the ideas submitted. We congratulate the winning teams and would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all participants for their strong contributions. The competition clearly demonstrates the value of engaging new perspectives to identify innovative applications for metal powders and to drive more sustainable industrial solutions”, says Sunil Muralidharan, Division President Metal Consumable & Elements and a member of the PowdrIQ jury.

Through initiatives like PowdrIQ, Höganäs aims to continue engaging new perspectives in the development of future metal powder applications.