QATAR Petrochemical Company (Qapco) and Materia Inc have signed an MoU to study development of the next generation of materials from Qatar’s existing feedstocks to maximise value related to Qapco’s existing processes.

Materia specialises in efficient feedstock utilisation and extraction of specific petrochemical and chemical compounds.

“Sustainability-oriented research is part of Qapco’s commitment to improve both the impact of its processes and product,” Qapco said in a statement. “Through collaboration with local and international partnerships, Qapco’s R&D team is digging deep into potential applications for its petrochemical products now and into the future,” it added.

Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, vice chairman and CEO of Qapco stated: “Joint industry-academia R&D, such as our collaboration with Materia and Texas A&M at Qatar, is very promising and paves the way to infinite possibilities while supporting the growth of Qatar’s knowledge-based economy. Collaborating with some of the world’s leading experts on research projects focusing on olefins, polymers and petrochemicals has the potential to add further value to our feedstock, which could be strongly beneficial for Qapco and ultimately for the hydrocarbon resources of the state.”

A Qapco production facility in Mesaieed Industrial City

Dr Michael A Giardello, Materia’s president, CEO and  CTO, stated: “This envisioned collaboration should enable Qapco to extract greater value from some of its by-product streams, therefore unlocking greater value from Qatar’s natural resources thanks to Materia’s unique and advanced technologies.”

Qapco uses focused partnerships with Qatar’s most prominent universities such as Texas A&M University at Qatar as the launching point for its research activities. Most recently, Qapco supported the establishment of an endowed chair position at Texas A&M at Qatar for polymer science and polymer engineering.

Nobel Prize winning chemist Professor Robert H Grubbs, Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, helped found Materia in 1998.

“It is exciting to be part of a collaboration involving Materia, Qapco, and Texas A&M at Qatar to develop the next generation of materials and products from Qatar-based feedstocks. This programme will allow fundamental discoveries to be rapidly converted into new commercial products,” stated Prof Grubbs.