Projects to Boost Value-Added Chemical Exports Compete for Awards

Top 13 Most Creative R&D Project Wins TRY 140,000 Award

The "R&D Project Marketplace in the Chemical Substances and Products Sector" was held for the fifth time this year, organized to increase added value in chemical exports and present innovative ideas to manufacturers.

A total of 30 creative projects competed, including nano gold production from electronic waste, development of next-generation cancer drugs, ruthenium-based next-generation solar cells, environmentally friendly 2-in-1 detergent for washing machines and dishwashers, permanent pacemaker batteries, nanotechnology surface protection chemicals, and emergency spray for burns, scars and insect bites.

Under the coordination of Turkey Exporters Assembly (TİM), in partnership with Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) and Mediterranean Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (AKMİB), and with support from TÜBİTAK, the "5th R&D Project Marketplace in the Chemical Substances and Products Sector" was held at the Istanbul Foreign Trade Complex. The R&D Project Marketplace, held for the fifth time this year and the largest innovation event in the chemicals sector, brought together universities, research institutions, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and relevant public institutions.

A total of 140 projects deemed suitable for evaluation in the fields of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Products, Paints and Adhesives, Plastics and Rubber, Cosmetics, Soaps and Cleaning Products, and Basic Chemicals were evaluated on an online scoring system by Evaluation Board members comprised of academics and manufacturers.

Project owners advancing to the top 30 made detailed presentations to the jury panel members at the Award Board Meeting. Following the evaluation, the most successful projects in each category were awarded TRY 15,000, second-place winners TRY 10,000, and third-place winners TRY 5,000. Speaking at the Chemistry R&D Project Marketplace Award Ceremony, İKMİB Chairman of the Board Murat Akyüz, stated: "The chemicals sector has important subsectors with high added-value potential such as plastics, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical products, and paints. Although the chemicals sector ranks in the top three of Turkey's exports, we believe these figures can go much higher. For this reason, we support R&D and innovation work that increases added value at every opportunity. Our goal is to increase the value per kilogram of our exports to at least USD 2.5 in coming years. The Chemistry R&D Project Marketplace gives us hope for the future in this respect. The creative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit of our project owners that we have witnessed since we started also encourage us." Akyüz noted that the work carried out was beginning to bear fruit, adding: "The orange essence cream for removing skin spots that was commercialized from our R&D Project Marketplace event held in 2013 was introduced for the first time at Dubai Beautyworld Fair this year. We hope these projects will expand to other sectors and their numbers will increase." Ar-Ge Project Marketplace Executive Board Chairman Necmi Sadıkoğlu stated: "In this year's R&D Project Marketplace, well-prepared and groundbreaking projects in all sectors competed. After a rigorous evaluation process, 30 projects made the final round. Each of these projects is of valuable quality that can be brought into production by our manufacturers whether they receive an award or not. At this point, we await the interest of our manufacturers. Additionally, our award-winning projects will be displayed at sectoral fairs throughout the year to connect with manufacturers."

Award-Winning Projects in the 5th Chemistry R&D Project Marketplace

Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Products Category:

First Prize:

Project Name: Purification of Platinum Metal for the Pharmaceutical Sector Project Owner: Cem Özer - Mert Zerin

Second Prize:

Project Name: Production of Pancreatic Trypsin and Chymotrypsin Enzymes for Industrial and Molecular Use Project Owner: Dursun Kısa

Third Prize:

Project Name:Production of Silk Protein-Based Wound and Burn Material for Tissue Engineering Project Owner:Kemal Kesenci Plastics and Rubber Category:

First Prize:

Project Name:Single-Stage Separation of Waste Plastics by Density Project Owner: Saim Bayrak - Oğuzcan Ünver

Second Prize:

Project Name: Citycar: L7 Class Vehicle Manufacturing Project Owner: Bahram Dovletov Basic Chemicals Category:

First Prize:

Project Name: Polyacrylamide Synthesis for Water Treatment and Wastewater Purification Project Owner: Emrah Vaydoğan

Second Prize:

Project Name: Development of Permanent Pacemaker Battery Prototype Project Owner: Hamide Aydın

Third Prize:

Project Name: Production of Ruthenium-Based Next-Generation Solar Cells Project Owner: Nilgün Kayacı Paints and Adhesives Category:

First Prize:

Project Name: Nanotechnology Surface Protection Chemical Project Owner: Emre Akar

Second Prize:

Project Name: Production of Domestic, Cost-Effective, Biodegradable Water-Based Adhesive for Concrete Reinforcement Bars Project Owner: Nilgün Kalaycıoğlu Özpozan

Third Prize:

Project Name: Development of Next-Generation Magnetostatic Paints for Painting Metallic Materials Project Owner: İmren Özcan Cosmetics, Soaps and Cleaning Products Category:

First Prize:

Project Name: Production of Environmentally Friendly, Naturally-Based 2-in-1 Detergent for Use in Washing Machines and Dishwashers Project Owner: Derya Akgün

Second Prize:

Project Name: Emergency Spray: Your Solution for Burns, Scars and Insect Bites Project Owner: Alim Ozan Evliyaoğlu