Synergy is our flagship enabling platform for businesses seeking to solve complex chemistry challenges through collaboration
We know that early in the innovation process companies often face risky and uncertain chemistry-based problems they need to solve. Some of these also exist in other industries and sectors.
By bringing together companies who face similar technical problems, we can create opportunities to solve them collaboratively:
- Reducing risks in research and development
- Bringing solutions to market that will benefit many industries
- Helping companies access our network of chemistry experts and knowledge bank
How does it work?
For each topic that we explore through the programme, we will:
- Create a safe environment for businesses to explore collaboration
- Use rigorous processes to define common goals and objectives
- Bring in experts from our chemistry community to create new solutions
Through collaboration, we can create a strong voice for informing, influencing and engaging the wider community to generate action.
What should our next topic be?
We are seeking new topics from industry to explore in 2020. They need to be:
- Relevant to multiple industries and sectors
- Complex chemical-science based challenges
- On topics that businesses are able to collaborate on
Email us your topic ideas.
Current topics and work in progress
Through-life performance of non-metallic materials for preventing corrosion
Corrosion affects every aspect of life, from small-scale electronics to large-scale infrastructure. It already costs Europe €630.5 billion each year.1 We expect global temperatures in the next 30 years to rise by 1.5 ºC, increasing the potential for corrosion damage.2 That means even higher costs and higher risks for businesses in the UK.
Progress
Through-life performance of non-metallic materials for preventing corrosion is our focus.
In October we will explore challenges in the following themes with experts:
- Material characterisation and testing
- Failure mode detection
- Degradation prediction
In January 2020 we will produce a report outlining ideas for collaboration.
Email us to find out more or get involved.
A Circular Economy for polymers in liquid formulations
Polymers are widely used in liquid formulations as thickeners, emulsifiers and coatings. However, industry often source these materials from fossil-derived feedstocks and they enter waste streams at the end of their life.
In light of the growing sustainability agenda, there are pressures on industry to use resources efficiently. As a result, there is increasing interest in the environmental footprint of these materials.
Progress
In 2018, we defined A Circular Economy for polymers in liquid formulations as our focus and built a cohort of experts from academia and industry.
We identified four clear opportunities for collaboration:
- Modification and development of new monomers and polymers
- Models and methods to design sustainable materials
- Scale up of sustainable monomers
- Recovery and reuse of polymers
In 2019 we will investigate these ideas further.
Download a copy of our report here:
A Circular Economy for polymers in liquid formulations
Email us to find out more or get involved.
- http://impact.nace.org/economic-impact.aspx
- Benjamin Valdez Salas & Michael Schorr Wiener (2010) ‘Relationship of corrosion with global warming and climate change’, Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology, 45:1, 1-1, DOI: 10.1179/147842210X12635511700839