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Top Stories Pharmaceuticals

INDUSTRY-ACADEMIA COLLABORATION TOWARDS NET ZERO

Evonik-supported materials characterisation lab NCL and UK’s Centre for Process Innovations set up

opened at ICT Mumbai ‘Living Lab’ to drive pharma industry decarbonisation

A materials characterisation labo- Pune-based CSIR-NCL (Council
ratory was inaugurated recently at the of Scientifi c and Industrial Research –
Department of Chemistry, Institute of National Chemical Laboratory) Pune and
Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai, UK’s CPI (Centre for Process Innova-
with support from German chemical tions) have started a ‘Living Lab’ to aid
fi rm, Evonik’s ‘Grow Beyond Yourself’ decarbonisation efforts in the pharma
programme. industry. The ‘Living Lab’ is part of the
UK-India Net Zero Innovation Centre,
Focused on India and China, the and will act as a testbed for companies
“Grow Beyond Yourself” programme to explore and de-risk advanced pharma “This fi rst-of-its-kind partnership new engagement model with industry
underscores the company’s commit- manufacturing technologies that lead between CPI and NCL is set up to make to allow it to collaborate, test and develop
ment to diversity and youth develop- to signifi cantly lower greenhouse gas data and processes available to all part- business cases for new technology and
ment through STEM education amongst emissions and increased productivity, ners, allowing them to build on insights innovation adoption at scale”.
girl students. As part of this initiative, and excellence”. The opening of the lab Executive Advisor – CSR, Evonik Asia as per a press statement. to more readily develop and commer-
Evonik and ICT Mumbai had inked was followed by an awards ceremony Pacifi c; Mr. Stefan Halusa, Director cialise less energy-intensive and effi - Several pharmaceutical companies
a MoU last year under which Evonik recognising the outstanding academic General, Indo-German Chamber of The lab at CSIR-NCL’s Pune cient manufacturing processes,” the have already joined the partnership,
committed to sponsor research projects, excellence of the female master’s stu- Commerce; Mr. Vinod Paremal, Presi- campus will initially develop and statement said. including Aarti Industries, Glenmark
introduce excellence awards for stu- dents of ICT. Evonik’s ‘Grow Beyond dent & Managing Director, Evonik demonstrate the potential of conti- Life Sciences, USV, Anthem Biosciences,
dents, and provide investment support Yourself’ Ph.D. scholars were also rec- India Region. Former ICT Director, nuous manufacturing and solvent-free Dr. Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR- Corning and GMM Pfaudler. These
for lab infrastructure upgradation. ognised for their achievements. Prof. M.M. Sharma, Prof. J.B. Joshi, manufacturing methods. Continuous NCL, said, “Continuous fl ow manu- fi rms will work together with CPI and
Chancellor, ICT, and Prof. A.B. Pandit, manufacturing is widely accepted as a facturing coupled with digitalisation CSIR-NCL to create “world-leading
Evonik said the materials characteri- The awards ceremony featured Vice-Chancellor, ICT, also shared insights more sustainable and effi cient method is an emerging powerful technology manufacturing practices”. Three more
sation lab will help “foster innovation addresses by Ms. Gabriele Rettig, Chief on industry-academia collaboration. to batch manufacturing, while incorpo- platform that can enable higher pro- large companies, including Sun Pharma,
rating solvent-free reactions is expected ductivity, improved safety and reduced are in the process of joining this partner-
Galaxy Surfactants recognised for hair care innovation to signifi cantly reduce the quantity emissions of drug manufacturing pro- ship imminently.
of hazardous waste generated during cesses. The ‘Living Lab’ will be a
Galaxy Surfactants, a leading supplier pharmaceutical manufacturing. The unique testbed that will allow Indian Having these industries as partners
of speciality ingredients to the home greener manufacturing practices will chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the development of an ecosystem for
and personal care industry, recently allow companies partnering with Indian to validate the advantages of emerging pre-competitive research on decarboni-
received the ‘HPCI Innovation Award’ manufacturers to adhere to Scope 3 tar- technologies and help them transition sation using continuous fl ow synthesis,
for its ingredient, Galseer Flexcon. gets by reducing indirect greenhouse gas from conventional batch manufactur- which is the strength of CSIR-NCL,
emissions, which in turn can open access ing to continuous manufacturing, there- with digitalisation support from CPI,
Galseer Flexcon addresses the to European markets. by contributing to a signifi cant reduc- will make the Centre for Sustainable
growing demand for eco-friendly and tion in emissions. The involvement of Continuous Manufacturing quite re-
multifunctional hair conditioning pro- The lab is part of the Centre for technology partners, who own niche sourceful and unique, offi cials said.
ducts. “With a high naturality index of Sustainable Continuous Manufacturing technologies relevant to continuous CSIR-NCL will soon announce an
over 90%, UV protection, and effec- hosted by CSIR-NCL, which has three manufacturing, will strengthen the ‘Industry Consortium on Continuous
tive frizz control, this breakthrough levels of industry engagement. centre and expedite the translation Manufacturing’ that aims to involve
ingredient empowers manufacturers to towards commercialisation”. mid-size Indian fi ne and speciality
develop next-generation hair care solu- CPI is a deep tech innovation chemicals’ industries and also pharma-
tions that are gentle on both hair and defi ning factor in consumer choices. solutions. Galseer Flexcon aligns with organisation and a founding member Dr. Arun Harish, Chief Strategy ceutical intermediate and medicinal
the environment,” the company said in Today’s end users are more informed the growing demand for eco-conscious of the Innovate UK Catapult Network Offi cer, CPI, said, “The potential for this compound manufacturers, who will
a press note. and conscious about the environmen- and responsible hair care products,” that assists companies and researchers project and the impact it could have have access to a wide range of fl ow
tal impact of the products they use, said Mr. Rajib Bhattacharjee, Vice to take promising technologies from on the world’s drive towards industrial synthesis facilities at CSIR-NCL. This
“This product is the need of the and it is imperative for the industry to President – Value Acceleration, Galaxy the lab-bench towards scale-up and decarbonisation is huge. By establishing industry consortium will also be one of
hour as sustainability becomes a address these concerns with innovative Surfactants. commercialisation. the ‘Living Lab’, we have developed a the activities of the centre.

148 Chemical Weekly March 4, 2025 Chemical Weekly March 4, 2025 149

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