Dr. Peter Denifl, the mastermind behind Borealis’ groundbreaking new polyolefin catalyst technology, Sirius, has been awarded the prestigious Giulio Natta Award for 2012.
The accolade recognises the significant contribution of Peter Denifl’s scientific activity in catalyst development, in the field of polypropylene products which contribute to enhancing quality of life. Proprietary Sirius catalyst technology from Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions, is spearheading the development of polyolefins with cutting edge performance and sustainability benefits. For example, it is supporting the innovation of cast film polypropylene grades which offer step change purity and optical properties, and faster, more energy-efficient processing for recyclable and sterilisable food contact applications.
The Sirius technology platform has been quoted as the biggest change in industrial polyolefin catalyst technology since the development of high yield Ziegler Natta (ZN) catalysts several decades ago. It has raised considerable interest in the global polyolefin community because of its ability to improve control of the active site distribution in ZN polymerization catalysts in a single-step process, resulting in better regulation of polymerisation reactions. Also Single Site catalysts can be made utilising the Sirius technology, with benefits in productivity and homogeneity across the catalyst particle.
The Giulio Natta Prize 2012 was announced by the “G. Natta and N. Copernico” Promoting Committee at its 10th anniversary award ceremony on May 19, 2012 in Ferrara, Italy. The G. Natta award was introduced in 2003 to celebrate the scientific achievements of Prof. Giulio Natta, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1963) for the discovery of Polypropylene.
“Peter Denifl has distinguished himself throughout his professional life by his high scientific capabilities,” comments Alfred Stern, Borealis Senior Vice President for Innovation and Technology. “Value Creation through Innovation is at the core of Borealis’ strategy. Our Sirius technology is fundamental to the development of polyolefins offering advanced differentiation and sustainability advantages to a wide range of end-markets. We are very proud to see both our colleague and our pioneering technology recognised with this esteemed award.”
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For further information please contact:
Virginia Mesicek, External Communications Manager
Tel. +43 (0)1 22 400 772
e-mail: virginia.mesicek@borealisgroup.com
Borealis is a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions that create value for society. With sales of EUR 7.1 billion in 2011, customers in over 120 countries, and around 5,300 employees worldwide, Borealis is owned 64% by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and 36% by OMV, the leading energy group in the European growth belt. Borealis is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has production locations, innovation centres and customer service centres across Europe and the Americas.
Through Borouge, a joint venture between Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s major oil and gas companies, the company’s footprint reaches out to the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Indian sub-continent and Africa. Established in 1998, Borouge employs approximately 1,700 people, has customers in more than 50 countries and its headquarters are in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Singapore.
Building on Borealis’ unique Borstar® technology and their more than 50 years experience in polyolefins, Borealis and Borouge provide innovative, value creating plastics solutions for the infrastructure (pipe systems and power and communication cables), automotive and advanced packaging markets. In addition, Borealis offers a wide range of base chemicals from melamine and fertilizer to phenol and acetone.
Today, Borealis and Borouge have a manufacturing capacity of over 5.4 million tonnes of polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene) per year having recently completed a 1.5 million tonne capacity expansion in Abu Dhabi. The Borouge 3 plant expansion will be completed at the end of 2013 with a further capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year (t/y) being fully operational in mid-2014. The companies continue to invest to ensure that their customers throughout the value chain and across the globe can always rely on product quality, consistency and security of supply.
Borouge and Borealis are committed to the principles of Responsible Care® and proactively contribute to addressing the world’s water and sanitation challenges through their Water for the World™ initiative.
For more information visit:
www.borealisgroup.com
www.borouge.com
www.preminattacopernico.it
www.waterfortheworld.net
Borstar is a registered trademark of the Borealis group.
Water for the World is a trademark of the Borealis group.
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