INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, celebrates the fifth anniversary of a unique and successful R&D collaboration model with Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH (NMB), in co-operation with the University of Bayreuth.
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INEOS Styrolution celebrates five-year collaboration
The partnership focuses on new styrenics solutions for the automotive, electronics, household, construction, and healthcare industries.
Strategic projects include development of sustainability concepts and recycling solutions for styrenic materials, new lightweight composites, foam injection moulding with aesthetic surfaces, and improved anti-scratch performance for styrenic polymers.
Dr. Norbert Niessner, Director of global R&D at INEOS Styrolution, said: “At INEOS Styrolution, R&D is an integral part of the business. We support both top-line growth, i.e. new products and applications, as well as efficiency improvement projects. The smooth collaboration with Bayreuth enables us to focus our own activities on downstream customer innovations across our focus industries.”
Going well beyond sponsoring a graduate-level research project, the partnership offers INEOS Styrolution access to a dedicated research team, including a managing scientist and highly qualified research personnel through NMB.
Professor Dr. Hans-Werner Schmidt of the University of Bayreuth, added: “The collaboration with INEOS Styrolution provides application-focused research fields, being attractive for our students and researchers. We established an environment of trust, freedom, space and flexibility that allow us to progress to innovation at a high speed … As a strong R&D site in polymer and material science, the University of Bayreuth contributes broad and in-depth experience. We are eager to work side-by-side with INEOS Styrolution to jointly create the styrenic innovations of tomorrow.”
Post-consumer progress
Additional development examples include research in the area of recycling polystyrene, post-consumer waste, aesthetic lightweight applications made by foam injection moulding techniques, and improved scratch resistance for styrenic polymers. Through its close cooperation with the Department of Macromolecular Chemistry and Polymer Engineering at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, which is renowned for polymer innovation and home to a host of companies specializing in polymer production and compounding.
NMB contributes to the ResolVe project, which is led by INEOS Styrolution and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project addresses chemical recycling of polystyrene post-consumer waste and aims at achieving a true circular economy, where polystyrene waste is recycled into virgin, high-quality styrenic polymers.