SABIC and hte extend partnership

Dr. Fahad Al-Sherehy, Executive Vice President, Technology & Innovation, SABIC and Dr. Wolfram Stichert, CEO at hte, celebrated the signing of the Umbrella Research Agreement at the 6th GPCA Research and Innovation Summit in Bahrain, held under the patronage of H.E. Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil, Bahrain.

The agreement stipulates that SABIC and hte will maintain the operation of SABIC’s satellite laboratory for high throughput experimentation in Heidelberg, Germany, and will install and operate a new high throughput experimentation laboratory at SABIC’s Corporate R&D (CRD) site at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). With this partnership, hte will also support SABIC in digitalisation in R&D.

The two companies are extending their strategic partnership to include fast-track catalysis R&D. Under the agreement, SABIC will continue operation of the SABIC satellite High Throughput Experimentation Lab, established in 2015 at hte’s facilities in Heidelberg. In addition, SABIC will have the opportunity to transfer hte’s institutional knowledge to its own corporate R&D center at KAUST in Saudi Arabia.

SABIC and hte will also set up a new high throughput experimentation laboratory based on the established satellite laboratory in Heidelberg. This centre will provide access to the latest technology and expertise to accelerate innovation in petrochemicals. Its close proximity to commercial plants will enable SABIC to support and optimise plant operation and productivity more efficiently. The overall aim is to decrease time and costs for the development of new catalysts and petrochemical processes considerably, and ultimately, to reduce their time-to-market.

Commenting on the umbrella agreement, Dr. Al-Sherehy said: “We are happy to continue our collaboration with hte, a leading provider of modern R&D solutions and technology. By introducing hte’s comprehensive, web-enabled data management solution myhte™ we also will address our goal to introduce digitalisation in catalysis R&D. An innovative partner like hte will add value to our business in the long term, and this will significantly enhance our pace of innovation.”

Dr. Stichert added: “The commitment for further cooperation with SABIC will take our relationship to the next level. We are proud to be SABIC’s preferred R&D collaboration partner and to extend the footprint of our partnership into Saudi Arabia for the first time.”

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/14032019/sabic-and-hte-extend-partnership/