Borouge and Borealis establish Innovation Centre in UAE

15-Sep-06

Borouge and Borealis, have announced the establishment of a major innovation centre in the UAE, representing a significant investment in Borouge's research capabilities to meet customer needs in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. The innovation centre, to be located in Abu Dhabi City, will jointly developed by Borouge and Borealis, will concentrate on developing practical solutions for plastic material applications and be fully operational in 2009. Along with benefiting existing customers, the centre forms part of the strategic expansion of both Borouge and Borealis across the region, underlining their joint commitment to value creation through innovation. The innovation centre will also closely complement Borouge 2, the planned multi-billion dollar expansion which will see annual production at Borouge's manufacturing site in Ruwais, UAE triple to 2 million tons. With the establishment of research capabilities of this kind, the centre will make a strong contribution to the growth of downstream industries in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The Abu Dhabi innovation centre will work with Borealis' innovation centres across Europe, which includes an international innovation centre in Linz (Austria), a catalyst and process research innovation centre in Porvoo (Finland) and a merged Innovation centre in Scandinavia. Borouge and Borealis will continue to enhance their research projects through partnerships with academic institutes of excellence. Borealis' innovation centre in Linz will collaborate with JKU, the Wels Advanced Technical College, the University of Leoben and polytechnic institutes in Austria. Now, a similar partnership between Borouge's innovation centre and the Petroleum Institute of Abu Dhabi will be developed, supporting the creation of a favourable environment for innovation in the Middle East and Asia.