Page 158 - CW E-Magazine (6-2-2024)

News from Abroad

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Umicore and Microsoft join forces to advance

battery materials technologies

Belgian materials technology and leverage all compelling
recycling company, Umicore, has internal and external
entered into an agreement with Microsoft data, to formulate new
to use artificial intelligence (AI) as a materials smarter,” ex-
means to facilitate and accelerate its plained Mr. Mathias Mie-
research in battery material technologies dreich, CEO of Umi-
for electric vehicles. core.

Umicore said the collaboration will Umicore has been
make it the among the first to apply an using materials, pro-
AI-based approach to support battery cess and data model-
scientists in developing new battery ling for many years
materials, enabling their faster time-to- thermore combine Umicore’s data with now as essential tools for product de-
market and an even more cost-efficient external historical data and information velopment. AI and machine learning
development process. on the latest technologies from various have over the last years added another
sources, including simulation models, dimension and have already resulted
The Battery Materials AI platform experiments or images. in Umicore’s filing of the first AI-en-
will take advantage of Microsoft’s abled patents in battery materials.
Azure OpenAI Service, extended with a “Umicore is keen to maximise the Umicore’s EV battery materials in-
multitude of unpublished, specific sci- vast battery technology know-how it novations and technologies serve the
entific AI models. It will be operated in a has acquired since it began researching entry segment or small-sized cars, the
Umicore proprietary environment with battery materials in the mid-1990s. With mass segment mid-sized cars, as well
full IP securitisation. Umicore will cre- the support of Microsoft, Umicore will be as the premium segment or lifestyle
ate a tailored AI environment that will the frontrunner in applying AI as a tool cars, with technologies ranging from
analyse, synthesise and bring together for our battery scientists to win time, NMC (nickel, manganese and cobalt)
decades of vast and complex data from efficiency and scale in our innovations to HLM (high lithium manganese) and
Umicore’s proprietary battery materials while safeguarding our IP in this sig- future solid-state and sodium-ion bat-
research and development. It will fur- nificant R&D area. It will help us fully tery technologies.

CARTEL PROBE
UK’s competition regulator expands probe into

Swiss fragrance firms

UK’s Competition and Markets (which merged with the Dutch
Authority (CMA) has expanded its specialty chemicals firm, DSM,
investigation into alleged anti-competi- in 2023), Givaudan and the US-
tive practices in the perfume sector, based International Flavors &
targeting in particular the Swiss firms – Fragrances (IFF). The CMA
Givaudan and Firmenich. widened its investigation to “re-
ciprocal arrangements regarding
The British regulator announced the recruitment of certain em-
in a statement that it had extended its ployees involved in the supply
probe into “alleged illegal coordina- of perfumes or perfume ingredi-
tion” between Firmenich International ents” it said.

158 Chemical Weekly February 6, 2024

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