The University of Liverpool and Scott Bader Company Ltd have formed a joint venture; Polymer Mimetics, to develop a novel polymer chemistry platform.
With a funding commitment of more than £1million, Polymer Mimetics will build on technology developed by Professor Steve Rannard, from the University's Department of Chemistry.
The technology takes widely-available chemical building blocks and, in a facile, highly scalable process, transforms them into high performance polymeric products with the potential to engineer in degradability. It is envisaged that this new generation of materials will have broad applicability in several markets including coatings, composites and speciality additives.
The joint venture with the University of Liverpool demonstrates Scott Bader's commitment to work with technology leaders to develop sustainable new technologies, and will be based in Liverpool.
Kevin Matthews, Group Chief Executive of Scott Bader, said: "We are delighted to partner with the University of Liverpool to launch Polymer Mimetics and we look forward to developing innovative products and effective sustainable solutions for our customers".
Professor Steve Rannard said: "Polymer Mimetics is a genuine industry-academia translation of new chemical technologies into a vehicle that will allow economic impact and we are highly grateful to Scott Bader for their faith in our chemistry and the vision to invest early in its development"
Professor Anthony Hollander, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Impact at the University of Liverpool, said: "This technology was initially developed via funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and has received significant support from the University's IP Commercialisation Team2 over the last 4 years. We're pleased to see these efforts come to fruition via this exciting partnership with Scott Bader, and we're especially pleased to secure inward investment and the creation of new jobs in the Liverpool City Region."
The founding Research Group was Professor Steve Rannard, Dr Pierre Chambon and Savannah Cassin, who work at the University of Liverpool's Department of Chemistry. Professor Rannard is also theme lead for Nanomedicine at the University's Materials Innovation Factory, an £81 million facility dedicated to the research and development of advanced materials.
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Notes to editors:
The University of Liverpool is one of the UK's leading research institutions with an annual turnover of £577.7million. Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group.
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Scott Bader was established in 1921. Today it is a £226 million global chemical company, employing nearly 700 people worldwide. It is a common trusteeship company, having no external shareholders, with a strong commitment to supporting its customers, workforce and the environment.
Scott Bader's headquarters are based in the UK where it has purpose-built, state-of-the-art technical facilities that provide R & D as well as complete evaluation, testing and application support. It has manufacturing facilities in Europe, The Middle East, South Africa, Canada, India and South America.
For further information please visit the Scott Bader website at http://www.scottbader.com.
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