MOL opens polyol R&D centre

The R&D centre is named after György Mosonyi, the late CEO of MOL.

MOL Group's 2030 strategy sets the goal of increasing the contribution of the petrochemical business. The €1.2 billion investment in the polyol complex in Tiszaújváros serves to achieve this. To underpin this investment and ensure that the plant meets the needs of the markets it serves, MOL established the R&D centre at the Danube Refinery. The €10 million investment centre will fund up to 12 engineers and seven technicians. The experimental reactor system was supplied and commissioned by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions with 90% of equipment procured from Hungarian suppliers.

MOL and thyssenkrupp have also entered into a joint research and development agreement to facilitate the entry of both companies into the polyol market: thyssenkrupp as a technology service provider and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, and MOL as a manufacturer and seller of various polyol products.

Gabriel Szabó, EVP of MOL Group Downstream, said: “The research and development centre bears the name of György Mosonyi, the late CEO of MOL, who was deeply committed to innovation throughout his work, so this a worthy tribute to his memory. It is a state-of-the-art laboratory, equipped with all the necessary tools, instruments and most importantly it has great experts who will ensure that the R&D activities can serve the development of market-ready products, to be later produced by the polyol plant in Tiszaújváros. [The] centre is outstanding not only for MOL, but as the most advanced polyol research centre in Central and Eastern Europe it has national significance and we hope that the scientific results of it will be of high value internationally as well.”

“With our agreement on joint research and development, this R&D centre is a big step forward to explore and win the new markets MOL is addressing with the polyols. We are excited for this new chapter in our joint journey and confident that this partnership will be an important success factor on our path to develop advanced and sustainable technology and products for a better future,” Sami Pelkonen, CEO of thyssenkrupp’s Chemical & Process Technologies business unit added.

The research and development center will conduct tests of the physicochemical properties of polyols, as well as laboratory tests and application experiments of polyurethane foams made from them. By July 2022, at least 10 polyol grades will be developed in the newly built facility. In order to compare and validate the results of the measurements, the company also plans to cooperate with the laboratories of several Hungarian universities and independent research institutions. These collaborations will help to further develop the methodologies used in the polyol R&D centre and increase the knowledge base of universities.

MOL's project ‘Research and Development of Polyether Polyol Grades with Market Potential’ will also take place primarily in the research centre.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/30112020/mol-opens-polyol-rd-centre/