SCI's Daily Digest: your one-stop shop for all of the day's news in science based industry

In today's Daily Digest, BASF's collaboration for improved rice production, WHO to launch global network utilising pathogen genomics, and more.

Energy

Johnson Matthey has signed a three-year strategic supply agreement with Norway’s Hystar to increase green hydrogen production. Johnson Matthey will supply membrane electrode assemblies as part of Hystar’s commercial production increase.

Masdar and Airbus have signed an agreement to support the development and growth of the global sustainable aviation fuel market. The agreement highlights areas of collaboration between the partners.

Adnoc has launched a global competition to find innovations that will ‘reshape the global energy landscape.’ The Decarbonisation Technology Challenge was launched by the UEA Climate Tech Forum in Abu Dhabi. Ten Finalists will be invited to pitch their innovations to a panel of judges in December 2023. The winner will receive $1 million in piloting opportunities with Adnoc.

Adnoc and Baker Hughes have reached and agreement whereby the partners will cooperate to accelerate the development and commercialisation of technology solutions for green and low carbon hydrogen as well as graphene.

Agriscience

BASF is collaborating with Kuota and ZEN-NOH to improve and optimise the production of rice. BASF will provide its Field Manager crop optimisation platform, while Kubota’s KSAS operating platform will be used to assess operability. The aim of the platform integration is to deliver greater convenience, increase yield, optimise fertiliser use and provide a higher return on investment for farmers.

Syngenta Crop Protection and FMC are to commercialise a novel herbicide to control grass weeds in rice in Asia. The partners say that the product, discovered and developed by FMC with support from Syngenta, marks the first major herbicide with a novel mode of action in over three decades.

Health

The WHO, in collaboration with its partners, is to launch a global network to help protect people from infectious disease threats with the use of pathogen genomics. The International Pathogen Surveillance Network will provide a platform to connect countries and regions improving systems for collecting and analysing samples. Data collected will be used to ‘drive public health decision making.’

The WHO’s 76th World Health Assembly taking place in Geneva Switzerland May 21st to 30th, will focus on driving forward health for all. The meeting will also determine the immediate and longer-term future of the WHO, starting with the program budget for the next two years.

Responding to yesterday’s UK government announcement on funding for AMR research, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has welcomed the move and said: ‘This a positive step for research into finding long-term solutions for AMR.

Environment

Yesterday, 22 May, was International Day for Biological Diversity, and Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, called for concrete collective actions to strengthen cooperation among parties, indigenous peoples, local communities and other relevant entities to stabilise the climate system and reverse biodiversity decline.