Titomic has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to test cold spray manufactured components, a move that could push solid-state additive manufacturing closer to flight-critical use.
The deal, announced February 11, 2026, positions Titomic to have NASA evaluate parts produced with its Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) process. The company says the work will focus on testing and evaluating characteristics of TKF-produced components for potential aerospace applications. The announcement specifies Huntsville, Alabama, reflecting Titomic’s home base in the US and proximity to major space and defense activity.
Space Act Agreements are one of NASA’s standard collaboration tools. They are often used for technical assessment and information exchange rather than direct procurement, and Titomic frames this effort as an initial evaluation phase. In other words, it is not yet a purchase order for flight hardware, but it is a route to the kind of data that aerospace programs demand before they even consider qualification. Consider this an important first step.
Titomic is best known for cold spray additive manufacturing, which sits a bit outside the mainstream of polymer FFF and resin systems, and even outside the typical metal additive conversations dominated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and Directed Energy Deposition (DED). Cold spray accelerates metal powder particles to high velocity and bonds them on impact, building up material without melting it. That “no melting” aspect is the core of Titomic’s pitch for demanding environments.
Why Cold Spray Matters For Space Hardware
In the press release, Titomic CEO and Managing Director Jim Simpson highlights the potential advantage: producing “high-performance, lightweight parts without the need for heat or melting.” For aerospace readers, that is code for avoiding some of the thermal side effects that can complicate metal AM, including residual stress, distortion, and microstructure changes that must be managed through process tuning and post-processing.
Cold spray is also frequently associated with repairs and coatings, not only net-new builds. That makes it interesting for space and defense supply chains where component life extension and rapid restoration can be as valuable as printing a brand-new design. If NASA’s evaluation includes mechanical properties, adhesion between deposited layers, porosity, and behavior under thermal cycling, it could help clarify where TKF is best positioned: structural parts, non-structural brackets, shielding, or repair operations.
Titomic USA President Dr. Patti Dare adds a notable qualifier: successful completion of the initial phase “could” lead to future collaboration in aerospace innovation and supply chain development. The word “could” matters: Aerospace adoption is controlled by repeatability, inspection methods, and qualification plans, and those requirements are often more challenging than simply demonstrating a strong tensile coupon in a lab.
What This Agreement Does – And Does Not – Say
The company did not disclose which specific components will be produced, what alloys are involved, or which NASA center or test facilities will run the evaluation. There is also no mention of a timeline for results, pricing, or whether the work includes any path toward certification. Those omissions are normal for early-stage technical collaborations, but they do limit how much we can guess about short-term impact.
Still, the strategic signal is clear: Titomic wants TKF to be taken seriously beyond industrial repairs and into higher assurance manufacturing. If NASA is satisfied with material behavior and inspection outcomes, the next logical steps would include tighter process controls, documented parameter windows, and a clear nondestructive evaluation approach.
For the broader AM market, this development also reinforces an ongoing theme: there is growing interest in “solid-state” deposition approaches that can complement LPBF rather than replace it. If cold spray can deliver predictable properties with less thermal management, it may find a niche in larger parts, hybrid manufacturing, and repair workflows where LPBF’s constraints are most painful.
The most important thing to watch now is whether NASA publishes or shares enough performance data to compare TKF parts against conventional wrought, cast, or heat-based AM alternatives. Until then, the announcement reads less like a victory lap and more like a tryout – but in aerospace, getting the tryout can sometimes be the hardest step.
Via Titomic
