Lyon: Seven industrial groups and two research laboratories have come together to create a research pole in the Lyon-St Etienne area called: Lyon – Polymer Science and Engineering. Arkema, Bluestar Silicones, Hutchinson, Nexans, Solvay, Toray et Total have signed a special partnership agreement with the CNRS, INSA-Lyon, the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and the Université Jean Monnet in St. Etienne. This Research Pole, which saw the light of day on 1 July, 2015 is built upon the skills and technical expertise of two laboratories, the laboratory for the Engineering of Polymeric Materials (IMP - Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères) and the laboratory Chemistry, Catalysis, Polymers and Processes (C2P2 – Chimie, Catalyse, Polymères et Procédés), and associates the mixed SOLVAY/CNRS unit, the Laboratory for Polymers and Advanced Materials (LPMA - Laboratoire des Polymères et Matériaux Avancés)
The pole Lyon – Polymer Science and Engineering issues from the desire of the industrial and academic partners to come together to develop innovative directions for research. The underlying motivation for this pole is to become an internationally recognised centre of reference for the study of polymerisation and polymeric materials. Another short term objective to be able to include in the pole other local laboratories, as well as other industrial groups and small to medium sized businesses. Other objectives of the members of the pole Lyon – Polymer
Science and Engineering are :
- To become the recognised centre for the study of polymerisation and polymeric materials in France;
- Develop long term partnerships in order to both maintain and develop high level fundamental research, to reinforce innovative applied research, and to build upon this expertise to develop innovative disruptive technologies;
- Build upon a very broad skill set to aid with the training of both R&D scientists and technicians that is appropriate for either industrial or academic areas;
- Pool specific equipment, resources and analytical techniques that are either present of the different platforms on the campuses of Lyon-St. Etienne, or under construction (e.g. Axel‘One and the Platforms of the Institut de Chimie de Lyon).
Finally, it is hoped that the pole will become one of the flagship projects for the creation of the Institute d’Excellence of the University of Lyon in the coming years.