The second International Advanced Materials Summit took place in Tianjin, China. It ran from Thursday, 30 October 2008 for three days, attracting more than 300 participants from international and Chinese chemical and material industries. The event provided an excellent platform for the business community, government officials and for investment institutions to exchange opinions and information on advanced materials.
Exploring the forefront of technological advancement, the summit covered three special technological sections: lightweight automotives; aviation and aerospace composites; and water treatment technologies.
Professor Hein Scheuder, executive vice president of DSM, the Dutch life sciences and materials sciences company, gave great insight to the implementation, evolution and transformation of advanced materials for sustainable development, from the perspective of a multinational chemical company.
According to Shi Changxu, academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, new eco-friendly materials are needed for a sustainable economy due to a worsening environment and the heavy consumption of energy and resources. Advanced materials also play an active role in promoting the use of clean energy and Changxu proposed that experts in the materials industry should get themselves deeply involved in research on renewable energy.
For those confronted with global water resource shortages, energy saving issues and gas emission reduction, representatives from General Electric and the Dow Chemical Company, introduced the applications of advanced membrane technology. With the global financial crisis spreading rapidly across the world and impacting other sectors, many of the speakers touched on the topic of how to deal with the resulting challenges.
Despite the increasing pressure on exports, of which many Chinese companies have experienced the chill, Ren Jianxin, president of the China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), is still optimistic about his organisation’s future. He revealed that ChemChina plans to build a technological park in Tianjin, investing Yuan 8-10 billion in the initial phase of the project.
Patrick Chun Zhao
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