Bayer Technology Services and the Technical University of Dortmund establish the INVITE research company
New technlogies for green chemical industry
Bayer Technology Services (BTS) and the Technical University of Dortmund (TU Dortmund) have established the INVITE GmbH research company, which will operate a new research center at Chempark Leverkusen, Germany. Flexible and efficient production concepts that help to conserve resources will be developed and tested in this “factory of the future.” The construction of the new building required is being funded in part by EUR 5 million from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology under Economic Stimulus Package II. Construction in the Cologne-Flittard section of the Chempark Leverkusen site is scheduled to begin in spring 2010, with completion expected one year later.
The Managing Director of INVITE GmbH is Michael Lorenz, a process engineer who has held a number of different positions at Bayer in Germany and abroad since 1989. The Cologne native served as a project manager at Bayer sites in Baytown, Texas, United States, and Map Ta Phut, Thailand, and was most recently responsible for project management of R&D projects at Bayer Technology Services.
“Entirely new technologies are required to achieve a further substantial improvement of production processes with respect to sustainability and resource conservation. With this research center, we not only seek to develop innovative reaction and process technologies with the help of process intensification, microreaction technology or modular, standardized fabrication units, we would also like to “invite” – in the truest sense of the word – all stakeholders involved, regardless of the competitive situation, to follow and shape this work in public,” said Lorenz, explaining the name of the research company. The name is derived from the terms “innovations,”, “visions,” and “technologies,” and is intended to reflect the paradigm shift in the European chemical industry, according to Lorenz. Professor Metin Tolan, Prorector Research at TU Dortmund and a member of the INVITE GmbH Supervisory Board, explains that BTS and TU Dortmund are establishing an open innovation environment with INVITE that will lead a significant shortening of innovation times. Furthermore, the results of the research projects will also be provided to students participating in initial and continuing education programs as well as to working professionals.
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