Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. I want to start by saying how particularly pleased I am to address you today.
This is the first opportunity I have had to launch a FARADAY Partnership and I thank you for inviting me.
FARADAY CONCEPT
But before I talk in more detail about CRYSTAL, I would like to spend a few moments speaking about the FARADAY
concept.
FARADAY partnerships are named after Michael FARADAY, the 19th Century Scientist known for his
experimental work in electricity and chemistry who maintained strong links with industry while pursuing fundamental research.
FARADAY once told a Parliamentary Commission that 'science is knocking at the door'. FARADAY partnerships aim to open that door between the knowledge
base and industry to promote collaboration.
Scientific excellence is essential.But it is only the
start. In the modern knowledge economy it is not enough to generate research - we have also to make the most of it -
to turn ideas into products which can improve our lives.
DTI and our partners in Government and the Research Councils offer a number of schemes designed to
promote collaboration between the science base and industry. We are particularly keen to foster industrially-orientated research and training in a commercial environment.We believe that Faraday partnerships offer a new way of enabling businesses and researchers in
specific fields of technology to work together to bring new products and processes to the market. Products and processes
that can change our quality of life.
WHAT HAVE FARADAYS ACHIEVED?
FARADAY Partnerships were first launched in 1997, and there are now 18 which have been established with support
from EPSRC, DTI, PPARC and DEFRA. Their progress has meant that universities
are now actively collaborating with business and research partners; research organisations are seeking to widen to their customer base and expand their services and companies have recognised that by taking up the skills offered by
our knowledge base they can become far more competitive.
FARADAY Partnerships work in subjects identified from Foresight priorities. They enable companies, universities and independent organisation to work together on areas in sectors of major national importance.
CHEMICALS INDUSTRY
One such sector is the chemicals industry. It does have a long history of invention, innovation, and scientific and industrial achievement in the UK. It is vital for our national economic well-being that it goes on being inventive and innovative. It is after all, the country's largest manufacturing sector. It provides
feedstocks and materials for much of the rest of industry. It is one of our primary export earners, and
employs 250,000 highly qualified and highly technical people.
But to sustain this wealth creating performance it will need to meet major challenges. The challenges of global competition, of the shift towards high-value speciality chemicals and of the growing focus of the impact of products and processes on the environment.
The thinking that underlies the concept of this Green Chemistry is that we can use the science and engineering
base to help the industry adapt to faster, lower-cost, product and process development which embraces improved use of resources and significant reductions in waste.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY 'GREEN CHEMISTRY'?
So it's important to keep it green. But what do we mean by Green Chemistry? Green Chemistry can be
defined as - "the design of chemical products and processes that reduces or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances"
You may have a definition which differs in some aspects but I think we would all agree that at the heart of
Green Chemistry is the desire to reduce resources, costs and waste, and so not only create a more environmentally friendly industry in the years ahead, but one that is more proactive in providing alternative solutions to costly and
wasteful processes.
HOW WILL CRYSTAL MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
I won't talk too much about CRYSTAL itself as I know Malcolm Wilkinson form IChemE plans to talk about the
project in more detail. Suffice it to say that CRYSTAL seeks to improve and develop the UK knowledge base by
providing a virtual centre of excellence in low cost, sustainable ("green") manufacturing technologies and practices.
The UK's three major chemical industry-orientated organisations - IChemE, CIA and RSC -
have joined forces to form the hub of the CRYSTAL FARADAY Partnership along with 12 existing "green" networks.
I won't comment further than to add that this Partnership represents a unique co-operation between the IChemE, CIA and RSC. This has the potential to
be a very powerful alliance which can bring about a culture change and lead to the diffusion of a new area of technology critical to our long term future.
WHAT OF THE FUTURE FOR FARADAYS?
The Government's current plans are to work towards establishing a national network of 24 FARADAY partnerships
by 2002. A 4th call for FARADAY Partnerships in well targeted topics of high priority is imminent.
The 18 FARADAY partnerships already established are producing a high and effective level of collaboration
between industry, RTOs and universities. These partnerships offer a unique way of enabling businesses and researchers
to work together, to find new opportunities for exploitation of research, to find new opportunities to bring change to the quality of our lives.
We have heard science knocking on the door. We are preparing to open that door even wider. I think Michael
Faraday would have approved.
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