Weekly Industry Innovation News Round-up, April 27

SusChem, the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem), a joint program between Cefic, and several other European chemistry organizations this week unveiled plans to align itself more closely to the European Union's Horizon 2020 program. Horizon 2020, the EU's research framework is set to be the world's largest research program with a budget of €80 billion ($108 billion). Although SusChem was already promoting sustainable technology development and implementation prior to the conception of Horizon 2020, its shift in strategy is significant and will mean that the chemical industry becomes a more effective partner and recipient of some of the €80 billion EU funding that is up for grabs. With the ever impressive Rodney Townsend, professor of chemistry and director of science and technology at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC; London), and Gernot Klotz, head of innovation at Cefic, both on the board of SusChem, the chemical industry can be assured that it will be well placed when it comes to involvement in Horizon 2020.


In a development that meets the need of the electronic industry to develop ever smaller devices, researchers at Charles Sadron Institute (CNRS; Strasbourg, France) and the Université de Strasbourg (Strasbourg) have developed highly conductive plastic nanofibers which ‘self assemble’ in the present of a flash of light. The fibers are made from chemically modified triarylamines.

Arkema says it has agreed to collaborate with the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA; Paris), a research and innovation group in the fields of microelectronics and organic electronics. 

Lonza says it has formed a partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO; Clayton South, Australia), to bring new insect silk products to the global market. 

Biocatalyst developer evocatal (Düsseldorf) says it is working with Lanxess to develop synthesis pathways and catalysts for rubber precursors based on renewable raw materials.

On the licensing front, UOP Technology's C3 Oleflex process has been selected by Zhangjiagang Yangzi River Petrochemical Co. (Zhangjiagang, China) to produce propylene at its facility at Zhangjiagang. In a separate contract, its UOP C3 ­and C4 Oleflex processes have been selected by Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals (Binzhou, China), a subsidiary of Shandong Chambroad Holding, for a new facility at Binzhou, that will produce propylene and isobutylene. 

Beyond Chemical Week...

BASF has introduced a 'Life Cycle Analyzer' to support the sustainable manufacture of concrete.