Entries for the 2024 edition of the Borealis Scientific Innovation Award (BSIA), a prize for scientific innovation in the field of production, design and sustainability of plastic materials are open, the company has announced. Launched in 2023 to stimulate the fresh thinking and innovative solutions needed to bring about a sustainable transformation, this year again, Borealis is looking for pioneering ideas and potential collaboration partners to accelerate the transition towards a circular future. The BSIA, said the company, is intended to provide a platform for these ideas.
This year, the focus topic is new solutions for the sustainable production and use of plastics. The award will recognise peer-reviewed publications or theses (publication paper, Bachelor, Master, PHD, Postdoc) that describe an innovative idea within the focus area. These ideas can include solutions for new catalysts, energy-efficient polymerisation processes, recycling of polymers, and polymeric materials for energy transformation.
“For Borealis, the collaborations are a great opportunity to be inspired and together we can make the transformation towards a more sustainable, circular future real”, said Craig Arnold, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology.
The call for submissions is open to disruptive thinkers from the professional and academic scientific communities, from entrepreneurs, engineers, chemical engineers and start-ups to university researchers. Applicants can submit their peer-reviewed publications or theses (publication paper, Bachelor, Master, PhD, Postdoc) until September 15, 2024. Upon submission, a panel of high-level Borealis research representatives will carefully review the applications and select three winners. The awardees will be invited to present their work in person at an award ceremony at the Borealis Innovation Headquarters in Linz, Austria. The awards include a certificate, a cash prize (€ 5,000 for first place, € 2,000 for second place, and €1,000 for third place), and a Borealis-funded trip to Linz, Austria.