Johnson Matthey and University of Birmingham: 30 Years of Collaboration in Chemical Engineering

Driven by the needs of a developing business unit, in 1994 ICI Katalco (which later became part of Johnson Matthey) started a collaboration with the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering on the scale up of a novel multiphase reactor technology: single technology and interest, single academic. This has morphed over the last 30 years into a broader collaboration across the School involving some 17 members of academic staff across an ever-broadening technical scope. While not unique in terms of longevity of a Johnson Matthey academic collaboration, others have been a relationship with a single academic. To date the collaboration with Birmingham has included over 30 graduate students, resulted in approximately 70 co-authored publications in refereed journals and leveraged approximately £7 million (2024 terms) of research funding for the University. This paper will review in general and specific terms, using case histories, how this relationship has been managed to the mutual benefit of both partners as a blueprint for long term, broad industrial-academic collaboration.