Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with hte in Heidelberg, Germany, to establish a satellite laboratory for high throughput experimentation for increasing its R&D efficiency, according to Arab News.
The hte, a major high throughput experimentation company, provides a “valuable upside to heterogeneous catalysis” and enables fast track R&D.
The MoU was signed by Ernesto Occhiello, EVP, technology and innovation, SABIC, and Wolfram Stichert, CEO at hte GmbH.
Under the MoU, hte will provide a technology platform to support SABIC in catalysis R&D. This will include advanced testing equipment, which will be hosted exclusively at hte’s newly constructed laboratory building in Heidelberg.
SABIC will benefit from a “unique R&D environment with dedicated high throughput experimentation laboratories and specialized personnel.” hte’s offering encompasses additionally state-of-the-art workshops, infrastructure, technology, service and catalysis expertise.
The key principle of high throughput experimentation is parallelization. Thus, performing of more than hundreds of experiments under varying industrially relevant conditions is highly economical. It decreases cost for development of new catalysts and chemical processes considerably and ultimately their time-to-market.
Occhiello said the memorandum is in line with SABIC’s 2025 strategy for the growth of petrochemicals and meeting the future challenges of R&D. “We are happy to continue our collaboration with the, which we consider a forefront provider of modern R&D solutions and technology. An innovative partner like hte will indeed add value to our business in the long term, and this will enhance our innovation pace significantly.”