CNRS and Rhodia Enter New Phase In Their Long-Standing Partnership

Rhodia and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have renewed their cooperation agreement for a further five years. This agreement, signed by Catherine Bréchignac, CNRS President, Arnold Migus, CNRS General Director, and Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Rhodia Chief Executive Officer, marks a new phase in this important partnership.

This cooperation between an industrial company and the CNRS, initiated in 1975, has steadily deepened over time and demonstrated both the complementary nature of public and private research and the synergies between the two. Starting in the 1980s, Rhodia’s laboratories host CNRS researchers working on such diverse topics as automobile emissions control, catalysts for fine chemical synthesis and surface modification.

Today, CNRS and Rhodia researchers are working together in the following three joint research units:

- Complex Fluid Laboratory in Bristol, Pennsylvania, USA created in 1996
Research at this laboratory has led to the development of various applications, including active deposition systems for haircare products, surface treatments and viscoelastic fluids for the oil field industry.

- Laboratory of the Future in Pessac, France, created in 2004
Designed to improve research productivity and shorten innovation time-to-market, this laboratory has used its expertise in microfluidic technologies to develop ways of creating phase diagrams in just a few hours instead of several weeks. Its work has also made it possible to acquire previously inaccessible process data from droplet size reactors.

- Advanced Polymers and Materials Laboratory in Lyon, France, created in 2006.
This laboratory is inventing the polymer-based materials of the future, which will have greater heat and mechanical resistance and provide safety and fuel economy solutions in particular for the automotive industry.

The cooperation between Rhodia and the CNRS includes regular scientific consultation, hiring of newly qualified research graduates by Rhodia after their Ph.D or post Doctoral training at the CNRS and research contracts with CNRS units.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Catherine Bréchignac, President of CNRS, noted that, “At CNRS, we are dedicated to building lasting, trusting relationships with our industrial partners. We’ve been working with Rhodia for more than thirty years now. We hope that this new phase in our partnership will enable us both to meet tomorrow’s scientific and technological challenges.”

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chief Executive Officer of Rhodia, added, “Research and innovation are critical key drivers of competitiveness for Rhodia. The partnership with the CNRS is one of the pillars of our research strategy. It will offer to Rhodia new research opportunities and enable us to reinforce our technological capabilities, helping us to meet more effectively our customers’ needs and to respond to the challenges of sustainable development. "