Joint (Academic – Industry) Zeolitic Catalyst and Process Development – How Healthy Is the Model?

Driven by efforts to leverage research budgets, introduce more innovation, and improve productivity, many companies have moved to initiate joint catalyst and process development with external organizations. The preferred partners are major research universities, although government laboratories are increasingly engaged. In the US, National Science Foundation (NSF) and funded programs such as NSF’s Engineering Research Center ERC) and Industry–University Cooperative Research Centers Program (IUCRC) programs provide incentives for university researchers to collaborate with their industry counterparts. The US Department of Energy (DOE) through its Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Catalysis Science Program has also been an effective facilitator of such relationships. In Europe as well as in China, joint catalyst development programs have been a common practice for many years. There are several recent examples of successful joint university – industry zeolite catalyst and zeolitic catalytic process development. Using information in the public domain, this presentation examines some of the key attributes that have made these joint development programs successful. The presentation also points to practices that may improve the productivity of such relationships. A key question is whether such programs have succeeded too well? Has the intensifying focus on impactful, short term research distorted the mission of academic research to produce the fundamental knowledge and the freedom of academics to pursue research directions that look “interesting” rather than commercially impactful?