UH-ExxonMobil agreement to catalyze specialty chemicals market growth

One of the most renowned giants partaking in bulk and specialty chemicals market share, ExxonMobil Chemical Company has scarcely signed a research agreement with the University of Houston (UH). Through this five-year deal, ExxonMobil researchers would be working alongside the UH faculty with respect to several product development projects.In a bid to minimize the impact of their petrochemical products on the environment, both the organizations will focus on the development of energy efficient facilities, with an investment of around USD 1 million. The UH Chief Energy Officer, Ramanan Krishnamoorti, was quoted stating that the research for the debut project related to advanced elastomer development is already on the radar. He also added that research teams would focus on the fundamentals of catalysis to discover new processes for polymer and specialty chemical manufacturing. This initiative has been touted by experts to introduce a new range of eco-friendly products across bulk and specialty chemicals industry.

It has been reported that it may be challenging for ExxonMobil to produce eco-friendly specialty chemicals, as recently, the company had been facing hurdles related to product delivery and safety. However, the company seems to be rather confident about overcoming the challenges through its deal with the University of Houston.

Reportedly, the UH-ExxonMobil deal validates that agreements between an academic institution and a niche-specific company are likely to create innovative opportunities in bulk and specialty chemicals market. Through this agreement, research scholars from the University of Houston will work on innovating cutting-edge technologies that would prove to impart practical industry-specific knowledge to the university students. Such academic-industry partnerships, cite experts, will impart the dual benefits of knowledge proliferation and overcome challenges related to real world engineering problems.

The University of Houston has signed on partnerships earlier with major industry players, however, as reported by some of the higher company authorities, its deal with ExxonMobil is one of the most lucrative ones till date.