Sabic partners with Chinese Academy of Sciences for research

Petrochemical supplier Sabic has signed a five-year strategic collaboration agreement with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) designed to cover joint research in the chemical and chemical engineering fields.

The agreement, signed in Beijing on Sept. 12, represents a multi-million dollar investment by Sabic, the company said.

The agreement also allows Chinese scientists and students to carry out research at Sabic’s research centres around the world. Sabic has 19 such centres in Saudi Arabia, North America, Europe and Asia.

“As the growth engine for Sabic in Asia, we continually explore new areas of transformation for China, in China, and with China,” said Mohamed Al-Mady, Sabic’s vice chairman and CEO. “We are supporting reform by providing customers and markets with the solutions they need as China progresses along its unique path of development. Partnering with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the linchpin of China’s drive to explore and harness high technology and natural sciences, will elevate SABIC’s efforts in helping to make the ‘China Dream’ an enduring reality.”

In addition to research collaborations, the two organizations will work together to jointly sponsor an annual “Scientific Forum on Frontiers of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering”.

Sabic has already had several collaborations with CAS institutes. In December 2013, Sabic and a CAS subsidiary established a research centre for advanced chemicals production technology to tackle scientific problems and develop new material solutions.