Haldor Topsoe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) has signed a shareholder agreement with Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI; www.jitri.org) and Xiangcheng Suzhou District for a joint R&D company in the Jiangsu Province of China. Based on Topsoe’s insight into the industrial application of catalytic technologies and surface science, the company will focus on the fast commercialization of new technologies and services, with special attention to the needs of customers in China and the Jiangsu Province.
“We are pleased to announce the joint venture with Haldor Topsoe and Xiangcheng Suzhou District. JITRI has been part of many R&D collaboration agreements in the past, but this is first time we have chosen to go a step further and invest in a jointly owned company. Our decision is based on more than a year’s talks with Haldor Topsoe, where we have been impressed by their high level of R&D work,” says Mr. Liu Qing, President of JITRI.
“We are very proud to enter into this agreement, and we look forward to launching a fast-moving R&D company in the important Chinese growth market. China is a global industrial leader, and Topsoe’s insights and experience will help continue this remarkable economic development, producing cleaner energy, and protecting the environment for the greater good of the Chinese society,” says Bjerne Clausen, CEO of Topsoe.
The joint R&D company’s first project will be to develop more cost-effective NCA batteries (lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide) for use in electric cars. China is the largest and fastest growing market for electric cars. The company will also offer Chinese customers fast and efficient testing within hydroprocessing and emissions management (catalytic filtration) in a convenient location.
Topsoe invests mainly technology and knowhow in return for a 60% ownership share of the company, which is expected to reach 30-40 employees over five years. JITRI and Xiangcheng Suzhou District own the remaining shares and will invest 80 million RMB over a five-year period.