Gas safety in laboratory environments
The use of gases is both fundamental and commonplace within laboratory environments, integral to essential sterilisation or decontamination procedures, for example, and also across a broad range of industries. The use of gases can pose significant hazards to the health of employees, and sometimes to the safety of the facility as a whole.
Comment: Patenting battery materials
It is possible to look at general trends for patent publications in a particular area, such as battery materials, to find changes in research focus and direction. But this ‘helicopter view’ can miss some of the interesting detail we see by looking more closely at particular patent applications.
Comment: Insulating Europe
Around 210m m3 of insulating materials are currently used in the European construction industry every year. Over the past two years, there has been an overall decline in demand for insulation materials in Europe, including Russia and Turkey.
Chinese coal power peaks
China’s coal-fired power generation decreased 1.9% in 2025, marking a historic shift driven by new non-fossil generation that has finally outpaced demand growth. Power demand grew 5% in China in 2025 (494 TWh), yet for the first time in a decade, coal-fired generation did not increase to meet demand.
Comment: Defining the 2026 smart factory
Today’s manufacturing industry has reached a new era entering the new year. If 2025 was defined by the cautious exploration of ‘experimental pilots’ and the collection of vast data lakes, 2026 marks the year that data finally gains a mind of its own.
Communication breakdown: Why soft skills are more important than ever in life sciences
We all know or work with people who can be difficult to deal with and even talk to, and we all know or work with other people who are a joy to be around and who make the working day a little brighter. Some of those difficult people will be highly competent in their field; their technical knowledge will be deeper than most - and they will know it.
Surface disinfection
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains one of the greatest global health threats of our time. According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic-resistant infections are directly responsible for an estimated 1.27m deaths globally every year, and data from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project forecasts 39m deaths between 2025 and 2050, if decisive action isn’t taken.
What startups in digital chemistry need to know about intellectual property
From drug discovery to advanced materials, digital technologies are redefining how innovation happens. In digital chemistry, chemical databases and predictive models are often key company assets. Effective protection of such assets requires a thoughtful and multi-layered IP strategy.
Comment: Are AI-designed molecules patentable?
Artificial intelligence is changing the way new molecules and materials are discovered, from pharmaceuticals to materials, enabling rapid screening and exploration of large design spaces. These advances bring new challenges for intellectual property strategy. In this article, we investigate how patent systems handle innovations where AI plays a pivotal role, and how that might impact IP strategies.
Comment: Prioritise TCO when making equipment investment decisions
When making any investment decision, particularly when purchasing high-value processing equipment, capital cost is usually one of the first things to be considered. But a far more accurate metric is actually the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or Total Expenditure (totex). This applies as much to heat exchangers and thermal processing systems as any other equipment.