Circle of life
Nature has long inspired a range of technologies, like the shape of bullet trains and LED pixels, based on a kingfisher’s beak and the patterning on a butterfly wing, respectively. Now, however, biomimicry is being taken to new heights as natural degradation processes are being supercharged to tackle modern day waste.
Biopesticide regulations
Unfortunately, the EU and UK are still lagging behind in under-standing the difference between chemical pesticides and biopesticides, and they treat both types of products similarly.
Risky operation
In the last decade, many chemical process plants have been decommissioned having reached the end of their useful life. Many companies contract out the task to specialist companies. While so much has been written about operational safety and legislated for, decommissioning safety has not received much attention, except in the nuclear field and offshore oil & gas.
New climate for plastics
The Glasgow Climate Pact agreed at COP26 in November 2021 represents the most ambitious commitment yet to tackling human-caused climate change. Plastics will doubtless play a positive role in facilitating new technologies to meet those commitments.
Digital transformation
Chemicals companies need to digitalise to be competitive, but many struggle to realise the full potential of what digital transformation could achieve for their business. A recent global study confirmed that only 19% of chemicals companies demonstrate real leadership in digital, with 45% ‘adopters’ still climbing the digital maturity curve and over a third (36%) ‘followers’, still in the early stages of digitalisation.
Cell therapy revolution
Advances in cell and gene therapies have happened at an exponential rate. Since Novartis broke open the market in 2017 with Kymriah – a gene therapy for blood cancer – the sector is booming and unlikely to slow down. More than 2600 trials are ongoing worldwide and the US FDA predicts it will be approving up to 20 therapies a year by 2025. Meanwhile, financing of regenerative medicine has soared.
EV materials
Much emphasis is put on electric vehicle (EV) battery cells – and rightly so. However, EVs present a range of other opportunities. Cells are assembled into a pack containing a plethora of materials and components, including thermal interface materials (TIMs), fire safety, enclosures, insulation and compression foams.
Cyber breaches
Polling employers and employees around UK business during Q3 2021, data security company SecureAge discovered 48% of businesses experienced a cyber breach during the Covid-19 pandemic and another 8% ‘were not sure’. In addition, 16% of employees said they had personally had to deal with a cybersecurity incident.
Navigating supply
The UK is experiencing a ‘perfect storm’ of supply chain related disruption. As a result, the chemicals and other industries are subject to unprecedented challenges that are likely to continue into 2022.
Biosimilar benefits
Earlier this summer, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) made the ground-breaking decision to recommend the expanded use of biosimilar medicines to treat moderate rheumatoid arthritis.