Collaboration on Sustainable Innovation with China gets a boost
UvA-HIMS signs international collaboration agreement with the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Institute for CleanTech Innovation.
5 November 2019
The signing follows several discussions and mutual visits and builds on the existing collaboration between the Heterogeneous Catalysis & Sustainable Chemistry group at the UvA, led by Prof. Gadi Rothenberg, and the CAS Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Conversion Science and Engineering, led by Prof. Yuhan Sun. In April this year, a delegation from SARI visited the UvA, and Prof. Sun gave a lecture as a guest of the John van Geuns Foundation and the RPA Sustainable Chemistry.
Research into catalytic biomass conversion, new materials and processes for low-carbon technologies, and the transition towards a circular economy is high on the agenda of all three parties. With the view of promoting collaboration, the institutes will conduct in-depth cooperation in academic research, basic research, and applied research. The parties will organize joint research projects, lectures and symposia, exchange information, researchers and graduate students in various fields, and strive for effective progress in the application of low-carbon conversion technologies.
Similar goals
According to Rothenberg, the agreement is an important step, opening possibilities for joint projects and R&D partnerships. “The goals of the Shanghai Institute for Cleantech Innovation are very similar to those of the UvA Research Priority Area Sustainable Chemistry and the Amsterdam Green Campus. This agreement can lead to many new projects in basic and applied research. We're already sending graduate students to China as part of the RPA's Student Travel Program, where our students expand their horizons, learning and working in different environments. The availability of both lab-scale and pilot-scale facilities will enable joint innovation and valorisation projects. In Europe, innovation towards sustainable development faces barriers created by a conservative investment culture. Now, by combining the strengths of all three partners we hope to realise more scientific ideas into bona fide applications.”
