Construction of the Mościcki Campus begins at the Łukasiewicz – Industrial Chemistry Institute. Poland is gaining a unique research and development centre on a European scale, which will consolidate the country’s potential in chemistry, pharmacy and biotechnology.
Nearly PLN 160 million is the funding that Łukasiewicz – Industrial Chemistry Institute has obtained from the Poland’s amended national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP) to subsidise investments in research infrastructure and development of existing competencies (Investment A2.4.1 Investments in expansion of research potential).
The EU money will be used to increase competences to improve the safety of the population through health care, as well as to develop a low-carbon economy, which has a direct impact on building resilience to climate change. A key element of the projects initiated is rebuilding the economy and society after the COVID-19 pandemic by taking measures to prevent the effects of similar events in the future, including by ensuring the availability of medicines and medical therapies in the event of a global supply disruption. Thus, the Mościcki Campus will contribute directly to the construction of the European Research and Implementation Area and strengthen Poland’s position in the field of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences.
– In the situation in which Poland and Europe find themselves today, security is an absolute priority. Ensuring adequate health protection during a global pandemic, armed conflict or natural disaster is only possible if we base it on our own resources. The Mościcki Campus is designed to do just that. emphasises Ewa ŚMIGIERA, PhD Sc. Eng., Director Łukasiewicz – Industrial Chemistry Institute. – We are strengthening our competences in the areas of chemistry and pharmacy to meet today’s challenges. Three brand new research centres at the Mościcki Campus will be the answer.
Three unique research centres at the Mościcki Campus
By the end of 2025, the Mościcki Campus will be built on the Łukasiewicz – ICI site. The project is worth almost PLN 240 million. The Mościcki Campus will consist of three unique research and implementation centres and seven modern laboratories operating within them:
- Centre for the Development of Low Carbon Technologies (CeTeN):
a. Hydrogen Processes Laboratory – specialising in the study of technologies related to low carbon energy (e.g. RES), where hydrogen from electrolysis will be used as an energy carrier or converted in fuel cells to produce electricity
b. Sustainable Polymer Technologies Laboratory – conducting research on polymers, taking into account their entire life cycle: obtaining, modification, use, reuse (recycling, biodegradable polymers), supporting sustainable development
c. Chemical Process Scaling Laboratory – dedicated to testing the scalability of low-carbon technologies, through the use of chemical process simulation and artificial intelligence
d. Industrial Biotechnology Laboratory – dealing with the development of environmentally friendly technological processes, based on enzymes and micro-organisms, which will use waste raw materials without increasing the greenhouse effect. - Centre for the Development of Pharmaceutical and Related Products (CeProFarm):
a. Medicines and Related Products Chemistry Laboratory – specialised in the development of technologies for the production of active substances, drugs and related products such as dietary supplements, medical devices and cosmetics
b. Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Analytics – conducting comprehensive analytical and microbiological studies of active substances, drugs, cosmetics and dietary supplements. - API Manufacturing Technology Centre (CeTeAPI):
API Manufacturing Laboratory – facilities for carrying out research and development work in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) on a semi-technical scale, under conditions that meet very stringent standards.
Each of the newly created research centres at the Mościcki Campus will have:
- the entire research and development cycle, from basic research, through development, to fully mature technological solutions at TRL Level 9 (Technology Readiness Level), meaning readiness for implementation into industrial practice
- dedicated and unique research equipment enabling the realisation of large integrated, collaborative projects with national and foreign chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, the plastics processing and waste recycling industries
- highly specialised personnel – with unique experience and competence in research and development, backed up by hundreds of original technological developments applied on an industrial scale at home and abroad.
Mościcki Campus open to everyone
The competence and infrastructural coherence of the Mościcki Campus will be unique in the country, comparable only to the capabilities of large chemical or pharmaceutical companies. Unlike them, however – the offer of Łukasiewicz – IChP will be widely available to all interested large and small companies; the new laboratories will offer their services to all interested entities, thus tightening cooperation between the science sector and industry.
The Mościcki Campus will also be a platform for scientific cooperation. Thanks to the expansion of research potential and the availability of modern research infrastructure with high research capacity, the project will enable the Polish scientific community to actively participate in international research projects. It will also contribute to increasing the competence of R&D staff in Poland, as well as stimulate the development of new products, processes and services. The Mościcki Campus is not only about R&D activities based on the Institute’s 100 years of experience, but also about the unique nationwide competence of the scientists and experts employed there.
by M.S., I.L.-W,
photo Tomasz Pastyrczyk
