LONDON, Nov. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Qpinch has won the ICIS Innovation Awards 2020 for its breakthrough chemical heat pump that transforms waste energy into process heat, enabling companies to cut their energy consumption and carbon emissions while also generating significant savings.
Despite the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic the awards saw over 100 entries this year, nearly double of the previous year's count, further cementing the chemical industry's commitment to innovation. The five winners of the ICIS Innovation Awards 2020 show that spearheading change and finding new solutions for old problems continues to be a key driver for businesses.
The Categories and winners include:
- Overall Winner and Best Innovation by a SME, Qpinch - Breakthrough Chemical Heat Pump for Petrochemicals – A game changer for decarbonization efforts
- Best Product, Clariant - From Natural Waste to High Performing Wax Solutions
- Best Process, Dow Chemical Company/Johnson Matthey- New LP Oxo INA Technology
- Best Sustainable Product, Corteva Agriscience - Loyant™ herbicide with Rinskor™ active
- Best sustainable process, Clariant/Casale - AmoMax®-Casale
ICIS Chemical Business Deputy Editor, Will Beacham, who chaired the awards judging panel which included representatives from BASF, Maroon Group and Accenture, said: "With the pandemic accelerating fundamental and permanent changes to chemical markets, innovation is more important than ever. With a record number of entries, this year's awards show how well the industry is stepping up to the challenges it faces."
"Qpinch uses the power of chemistry to harvest waste heat energy," explains Erik Verdeyen, Qpinch's chief evangelist. "Low temperatures are not an excuse anymore to discard this huge energy reservoir. And the great thing is that energy efficiency achieves two things at once as it helps reduce emissions while saving costs as well," added Verdeyen.
Sustainability and collaboration were two key themes represented in the awards this year, with multiple judges citing green credentials and company integration as key reasons for selecting winners.
Commenting on the overall winner Qpinch, Detlef Kratz, president of process research & chemical engineering at BASF said: "This technology can be multiplied across many applications and could be a breakthrough to help companies grasp this residual heat that all of our plants have. This could save endless amounts of energy."
A full description of all the winning entries, and interviews with the winners and sponsors, can be found here.
About ICIS
ICIS is a trusted source of intelligence for the global energy, chemical and fertilizer industries. We are a division of RELX, a FTSE 15 company with a market cap of £32 billion and an employee base of over 30,000 experts across 40 countries.
At ICIS, we help businesses make strategic decisions, mitigate risk, improve productivity and capitalise on new opportunities. We make some of the world's most important markets more trusted and predictable by providing data services, thought leadership and decision tools. As a result of our unmatched global presence, we can deliver targeted connected intelligence to influence thousands of decisions across supply chains every single day. We shape the world by connecting markets to optimise the world's valuable resources. With a global team of more than 600 experts, ICIS has employees based in London, New York, Houston, Karlsruhe, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Perth.
About RELX
RELX Group is a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom almost half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. Total market capitalisation is approximately £35bn|€39bn|$46bn.
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