C4IP is recognizing William Kroll, who revolutionized America’s high-tech industries by making mass production of titanium possible.
- Kroll was born in Luxembourg in 1889 and studied engineering in Germany before returning to his home country and inventing a process to produce pure titanium, a strong yet lightweight metal that had previously been difficult to obtain.
- He fled to the United States shortly before the Nazi invasion of Luxembourg and applied his expertise as a metallurgist for the U.S. Bureau of Mines during World War II.
- In the United States, Kroll improved and patented his titanium production process, later dubbed the “Kroll process.”
- He filed over 50 patents over the course of his career.
- Kroll’s invention fueled rapid progress in several high-tech industries, including aerospace, construction, and medical devices, and is considered a strategic resource for national defense.
- Today, titanium is used in numerous products and technologies, from surgical implants to jewelry to sporting equipment.
- The Kroll process remains the primary method used for producing titanium metal — powering a global market that is projected to reach a value of over $50 billion in the next decade.