It is highly corrosion resistant, and is not affected by water, saline solutions or chlorine gas, but is dissolved by strong acids. It does not oxidize in room temperature, but in warm air an oxide layer is formed and this slows down further oxidation. Titanium is not found in pure form naturally, but occurs among other in the mineral ilmenite (FeTiO3), the raw material for titanium production in Norway which takes place at Titania A/S in Sokndal.

Titanium is just as strong as steel, but approximately 45% lighter. It’s 60% heavier than aluminium, but more than twice as strong. It does, however, lose some of its strength at temperatures exceeding 400°C. Thereby, titanium has a high strength relative to its weight, and is used by itself or in alloys as material for space shuttles, jet airplanes, submarines, tools, and tennis and squash-rackets. Usual titanium alloys contain iron and aluminium.

Titanium’s most common chemical compound, titanium oxide, has a stabile white colour and is often used in paints as pigment. It’s also suitable for medical use as implant material because it is bio-compatible, meaning it is non-toxic and is not rejected by the body. Titanium has also been used in architecture, such as the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, and Tromsø Library features offices in a building with a titanium-covered roof.

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

Norsk Titanium AS (NTi) is a Norwegian company basing itself on development and industrialization of new, efficient production technology for titanium. NTi carries out its research activities at Norsk Hydro’s laboratory at Herøya and at NTNU / SINTEF in Trondheim.

NTNU / SINTEF have activities within manufacturing and production of titanium and titanium components, partly in collaboration with Norsk Titanium, in the following areas;
- Manufacturing of titanium sponge from titanium oxide
- Manufacturing of titanium components directly from titanium sponge
- New production methods for titanium manufacturing
- Micro structure and properties of titanium