Pharmaceuticals Sector - Solvay

42
Solvay Global Annual Report 2005
Energies of the
future: Fuel cells
Membranes
In the course of 2005 decisive
progress was made in the reliability
and performance of the ionexchange
membranes that are key
components of fuel cells.
Patent applications have been fi led,
in particular for membranes for
methanol-fuelled cells. These fuel
cells are particularly suited to portable,
low temperature situations,
like laptops and portable phones,
which will be the fi rst general
applications. These fuel cells are
arousing increasing interest.
Shareholding in Conduit
Ventures Ltd
London-based venture capital fund
Conduit Ventures Ltd, in which
Solvay took a shareholding in 2004
and which focuses its activity on
hydrogen-linked technologies,
has invested in seven start-up
companies. These cover a large
portion of the value chain, from
component manufacturing
(membranes, catalysts, etc.) to
complete systems, with applications
ranging from portable
electronics to electricity supply
and telecommunication systems
to industrial vehicles. This direct
link with markets is enabling Solvay
to speed up and better direct its
own developments.
New Business Development
Locating partners
Elsewhere, opportunities for
partnerships are being explored
in order to gather competences,
increase effi ciency and cut
development times.
Advanced materials
for the information
and communication
industry
Information and communication
technologies use large quantities of
advanced products and materials,
among them high-performance
polymers and high-purity chemicals
that Solvay already supplies.
NBD is prospecting new business
opportunities in fl exible display
screens, photovoltaic systems
and printable electronics. These
emerging applications call for
conductive materials, light-emitting
or capturing materials and encapsulation
and support components.
Contacts have been made here
with small high-tech companies
and with major laboratories in
Europe, North America and Asia.
Solvay, technological
partner in the Solar
Impulse project
Solvay has committed itself to the
Solar Impulse project alongside
Bertrand Piccard, the fi rst aeronaut
to circle the world in a balloon.
The objective is to circumnavigate
the world in several stages in an
aircraft powered solely by solar
energy, with no other energy
source and no polluting emissions.
As technology partner, Solvay
is bringing to Solar Impulse its
recognized competences in
developing and applying innovative
plastics and simulating their
behaviour in extreme conditions.
In addition to the technological
commitment, this partnership
represents for the Group a positive
and concrete contribution to raising
awareness of Sustainable Development
and to developing renewable
energies. This partnership expresses
the Group’s confi dence in the
commitment of its employees, its
spirit of enterprise and its technological
innovation capacity. It also
has a clear economic dimension for
Solvay as an excellent springboard
for promoting and developing
the new products, services and
solutions which the Group will be
able to bring to the project.
The project is right now in the
design stage. In 2006 the major
technology decisions will be taken.
In 2007 the fi rst prototype aircraft
will be built, followed by maiden
fl ights in 2008, and the circumnavigation
of the world in stages
in 2010.
Functional nutritional
ingredients
Chemicals or pharmaceuticals?
The fi eld of food ingredients spans
both disciplines. NBD’s research
programme makes full use of
the skills and know-how that
Solvay has acquired in physiology/
pharmacy and its command
of chemistry and chemical
engineering.