Solvay, a chemical company in Brussels, Belgium, says it will locate its Korean research center on the campus of EWHA Women’s University in Seoul. The company’s investment in this venture will total EUR 16.8 million (USD 24.0 million).
Solvay plans to invest EUR 13 million in a Research, Development and Technology (RDT) Centre at EWHA. The company will start as well an EUR 3.8 million five year collaborative research fellowship with EWHA.
The RDT Centre plans to concentrate on electronics, lithium ion batteries, and photovoltaic cells, which are markets for specialty polymers and chemicals produced by Solvay. The campus will also be the headquarters of Solvay’s global business unit on special chemicals.
EWHA says it is the largest women’s university in the world and has established liaisons with universities and research institutes in the USA, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia. Solvay expects to work with the university’s labs conducting research on nanotechnology and biomaterials, as well as EWHA’s New and Renewable Energy Research Centre.
The agreement with EWHA follows other Solvay’s R&D efforts in Korea. In October, Solvay announced a EUR 13 million investment in the Korea Advanced Materials Fund, a technology venture capital fund. The Korea Advanced Materials Fund takes positions in start-ups with promising technologies and focuses on renewable energy, printed electronics, clean technologies, and green chemistry.
Read more: Korea Boosts R&D Budget, Targets Economic Growth
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