#Research & Development

2023-08-31

SABIC celebrates 10th Anniversary of its Technology Center in Shanghai with first Innovation Day

SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, yesterday celebrated the 10th anniversary of the SABIC Technology Center in Shanghai (STC Shanghai) by holding the site’s first-ever Innovation Day.

SABIC Chairman Khalid Hashim Al-Dabbagh and SABIC CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh celebrated this remarkable milestone with his excellency Abdulrahman Bin Ahmed Hamdan Al-Harbi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to China; Zhu Zhisong, Member of Standing Committee of CPC Shanghai, Secretary of CPC Pudong New Area Committee; Peng Song, Executive Deputy Director of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Promotion Office; Wu Qiang, Deputy Governor of Shanghai Pudong New Area, along with SABIC executive committee, customers, and business partners.

“Multinational corporations would diligently work with others across different industries and in different countries to build up a portfolio of innovative solutions that can turn challenges into opportunities,” said Al-Fageeh. “One of the most active fronts in our campaign for innovation is right here, at the STC Shanghai. SABIC looks forward to strengthening its in-country relationships and remains firmly committed to fostering mutually beneficial economic growth in and through China.”

Established in 2013 as one of the key regional hubs and 19 global technology centers, STC Shanghai is a key part of SABIC’s global innovation network. Today, the center has 20 laboratories with three focus areas including Analytical Science, EMT (extrusion, molding & testing) and Application Technology & Industry Solutions. Over 500 employees work at the center, including more than 170 scientists, who focus on helping customers address challenges across focused segments such as automotive, building and construction, packaging, electrical and electronics, healthcare, personal hygiene and energy transition. Leveraging value-chain collaboration and partnerships with renowned universities and research institutes in China, STC Shanghai also helps drive in-depth integration between industry and academia to further support China’s high-level, innovation-driven development.

In addition to being a key source of collaborative innovation, STC Shanghai has also played an important role in SABIC’s engagement with the local community. In 2017, SABIC launched its River Conservation Program, drawing on STC Shanghai’s expertise to help improve the local community’s natural ecosystem. Over the past decade, SABIC has held several Open-to-Public (OTP) Days and ‘Lights of Our Future’ activities at the center. These events, which were made possible by SABIC local employees volunteering over 9,000 hours to provide public education services on sustainability topics, reached a total of 11,840 students from 42 local schools in Shanghai.

Innovation is the foundation on which SABIC has built its success and the core driving force of its development in China for almost 40 years. It is through innovation that SABIC has successfully delivered rapid growth and expanded its network in China to include not only the STC Shanghai but also two joint ventures and three compounding plants with operations in 17 cities. Through its ongoing focus on market-facing innovation marked by the 10th anniversary of the STC Shanghai, SABIC remains firmly committed to expanding its presence in China, contributing to the country’s high-quality development, and supporting the strategic alignment between Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

ALADIN paves the way for circular and demand-driven textile production in Europe

Textile production can be organized sustainably by utilizing short supply chains and preventing overproduction. This can already be achieved today by intelligently connecting and efficiently utilizing existing infrastructure. At the same time, production becomes circular when innovative technologies and materials are used that enable high-quality recycling. The ALADIN research project, launched in May 2026 and co-funded with five million euros under the EU Horizon Europe program, is creating the conditions for this.

TERIS reaches milestone: Fraunhofer consortium develops new standards for tire analysis

In the “TERIS” project, the Fraunhofer institutes ICT, IGD, and IWM—led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF—have reached a decisive milestone. For the first time, the teams aim to generate, analyse, and predict tire wear in the laboratory in a standardized and practical manner. As part of this milestone, results are now available on reference abrasion, particle analysis, tribological models, AI-based surface analysis, a test bench concept, and methods for accelerated aging and VOC detection. The tire industry, testing services, and environmental agencies will in future benefit from reliable, rapid laboratory procedures for emissions assessment.

Geotextiles made from recycled materials: GREEN leads the way into the industry

For the industry, recycled materials are creating new opportunities in geotextile production. In the GREEN project, the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE demonstrates that recycled polypro-pylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and high-density polyeth-ylene (HDPE) can be processed into nonwovens, fibers, and membranes that meet industrial requirements. This creates opportunities for use in existing production lines and new value chains in the geotextile market.

2026 general meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen at ITA

The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board. Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering.

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.