Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and High Throughput Experimentation (HTE) extended plans for collaboration for five more years to increase efficiency through digitalization and high throughput technologies in catalysis research and development (R&D) in petrochemicals.
The two parties signed an agreement, which 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).
Under this agreement, HTE will also support SABIC in digitalization in R&D.
Executive Vice President, Technology and Innovation at SABIC Dr. Fahad al-Sherehy and CEO of HTE Dr. Wolfram Stichert signed the Umbrella Research Agreement at the sixth GPCA Research and Innovation Summit in Bahrain.
Building on the previous successful collaboration, SABIC and HTE are extending their strategic partnership to include fast-track catalysis R&D.
SABIC will continue operation of its satellite High Throughput Experimentation Lab, which was established in 2015 at HTE’s facilities in Heidelberg, according to the agreement signed.
In addition, it will have the opportunity to transfer HTE’s institutional knowledge to its own corporate R&D center at KAUST in Saudi Arabia.
This center 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 optimize 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.
