Refrigerant manufacturer Chemours has officially opened its new $150m, 30,000m² state-of-the-art research and innovation facility at the University of Delaware.
The new facility on the university’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus now houses more than 300 of the company’s top researchers and scientists. It consolidates most of the company’s fluoroproducts, chemical solutions and titanium technologies efforts into one location.
Known as the Discovery Hub, it contains more than 130 individual laboratories. It will deepen its research partnership with the University of Delaware and perform experiments alongside professors and students to develop new applications for its products. Additionally, the company will use its facility to attract and recruit potential interns, co-ops and employees.
“This is about so much more than a new R&D facility; it’s about our company’s investment in young minds who will be introduced to chemistry at the Discovery Hub, our continued investment in Delaware, and our investment in an innovation pipeline that will empower our customers and change the world for the better,” said Chemours president and CEO Mark Vergnano.
The Chemours Discovery Hub is said to be one of the largest R&D centres in the state of Delaware and one of the largest R&D facilities within the chemical industry. Some of the company’s own products were used in the building’s construction. This includes 4,000 tons of chiller capacity using Chemours’ Opteon low GWP refrigerants, and building insulation provided by 96,000lb (43,545kg) of Opteon spray foam.
