Global petrochemical giant Sabic has announced that it has signed a five-year strategic partnership agreement with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the country's leading public research and education institution.

The landmark CAS strategic collaboration agreement will help Sabic further its research, intellectual exchange and talent development, said the statement from the Saudi firm.

The agreement will see Sabic make a multi-million dollar investment for joint research in the chemical and chemical engineering fields aimed at developing advanced technologies and solutions, allowing the Suaid firm to bring to market the results of collaborative research.

The agreement was signed in Beijing by Ernesto Occhiello, the executive VP, Technology and Innovation (Sabic) and Ding Zhongli, the vice president of CAS and president of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This marks the initiation and expansion of new and existing research relationships between Sabic and CAS-affiliated institutes in China. In addition to research collaborations, the duo will work together to jointly sponsor an annual Scientific Forum on Frontiers of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, said the petrochemical giant in its statement.

The first scientific forum will be held on September 14-15 at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP).

The first forum will establish the focus of collaborative scientific efforts between Sabic and CAS, applying innovation and sustainability principles to expand the utility of feedstock, harness the potential of nanotechnology, and explore advancements in composite materials, with the ultimate aim of bringing exponential benefits to industry and society at large, said the statement.

Whether it is lightweight technology that enables fuel efficiency, materials that enable safety while maintaining performance, solutions that are designed with sustainability in mind or innovative applications that perform more reliably over the long-term, Sabic is continually developing solutions from chemistry which enable our customers to achieve their commercial ambitions and solve critical industry problems, it added.

In addition, the collaboration agreement also incubates local innovation to drive growth with the establishment of an annual Sabic-CAS Scholarship. It aims at stimulating scholarly pursuits by recognizing outstanding scientists, engineers and students from across China.

Sabic vice chairman and CEO Mohamed Al-Mady said: "As the growth engine for Sabic in Asia, we continually explore new areas of transformation for China, in China, and with China. 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 CAS, 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," he added.

Ding Zhongli said: "As we strive to build CAS into a world-class scientific research base for cultivating talent and promoting the development of China's high and new technology industries, we will continue to partner with international players like Sabic who demonstrate strong commitment and innovation in their sustainable solutions."

Ernesto Occhiello explained how Sabic prizes innovation, ingenuity and collaboration as core drivers of its business, and more importantly, as the keys to solving some of the pressing problems facing society in areas such as air quality, clean water, food safety and security, energy efficiency and green industry growth.

"Scientific endeavour is the impetus to what we can accomplish in our industry – this is given due recognition in our strategic collaboration with a premier research institution like CAS," he noted.

"We are on a quest to spearhead technological advancement for material solutions, to explore sustainable ways to get more and better use out of natural resources in the form of existing feedstock supplies. We at Sabic are working to realize tangible ways to help people live better and more comfortably, today and tomorrow," he added.-TradeArabia News Service