Page 168 - CW E-Magazine (28-5-2024)

News from Abroad

DOWNSTREAM PROCESS INTENSIFICATION
Sartorius and Sanofi announce collaboration

in integrated and continuous biomanufacturing

German life science group, mercialise the ICB platform offering to
Sartorius, is collaborating with French customers worldwide. “Technological
biopharmaceutical company, Sanofi, innovation is crucial for biopharmaceu-
to develop an end-to-end platform for tical companies to significantly reduce
integrated and continuous downstream the cost of drug manufacturing – while
bioprocessing. improving the environmental footprint
of their operations – and ultimately get-
Selected as a preferred supplier, ting life-saving drugs to patients faster.
Sartorius will contribute its engineer- As the biologics landscape becomes
ing and manufacturing expertise to batch methods, and by integrating mul- more diverse, teaming up with Sanofi
commercialise ICB (integrated and tiple unit operations into a lean process is an excellent basis for developing a
continuous biomanufacturing) plat- setup. ICB reduces the overall process unique modular platform that combines
forms based on prototypes developed footprint, leading to lower raw material flexibility with the advantages of
by Sanofi. In return, Sanofi will grant and energy consumption, higher pro- intensified bioprocessing,” said Mr. Jan
Sartorius exclusive access to its know- ductivity, and less waste. Schäfer, Head of Separation Systems at
how and patents related to the ICB Sartorius.
platform. Sartorius is committing to the rapid
development of hardware, consumables Sartorius offers a wide array of
ICB is an advanced approach to the and process automation for diverse applications for process intensification in
production of biopharmaceuticals. The applications and volumes from develop- both upstream and downstream, rang-
concept aims to maximise efficiency by ment to commercial scale. As part of ing from high-throughput tools for pro-
enabling uninterrupted and steady mate- the collaboration and license agree- cess development to scalable, flexible
rials flow, as opposed to traditional ment, Sartorius will exclusively com- manufacturing solutions.

ENERGY TRANSITION
Asahi Kasei begins operation of multi-module

hydrogen pilot plant in Kawasaki

Japan’s Asahi Kasei celebrated the new system under realistic conditions
official opening of its new hydrogen in a multi-module setup, the company
pilot plant in Kawasaki, Japan on May started constructing a pilot plant at its
13th. manufacturing site in Kawasaki in
November 2022. The new facility started
“The trial operation of four 0.8-MW operation in March 2024, and on May
modules is another milestone towards 13th, company representatives and
the realisation of a commercial partners gathered in Kawasaki to cele-
multi-module 100 MW-class alkaline brate its official opening.
water electrolysis system for green
hydrogen production,” the company to reach approximately 300-GW by Multi-module approach for easy
informed in a press note. 2030. To meet this increasing demand, scale-up
Asahi Kasei is currently developing Mr. Masami Takenaka, Lead Exe-
According to the Hydrogen Coun- the Aqualyzer alkaline water electro- cutive Officer at Asahi Kasei and res-
cil, cumulative global installed capa- lyser optimised for the production of ponsible for the company’s hydrogen
city of water electrolysers is forecast green hydrogen. In order to test this business, said, “This pilot facility is

168 Chemical Weekly May 28, 2024

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