Formation & History of the SCG – Oxford Centre of Excellence

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Formation

The SCG – Oxford Centre of Excellence (CoE) was founded in 2012 by Professor Dermot O’Hare (Oxford) and Dr Suracha Udomsak (SCG), and brought together scientists with a wide range of research interests spanning the breadth of science from energy utilisation and Carbon Net Zero, to the chemical Circular Economy and the future of plastics and polymers.

The SCG-Oxford Centre of Excellence for Chemistry was the 2019 winner of the prestigious Industry-Academia Collaboration Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, for creating a unique and long-standing collaboration bringing benefits to chemical science.

Key Milestones:

2011

Since 2011, CoE projects have resulted in nearly 100 publications in international peer reviewed journals
  So far over 50 projects have been funded amounting to over £20 million.
2012 Since its establishment in 2012, the CoE has been associated with over 20 Chemistry Professors, over 30 Post Doctoral Research Assistants and many PhD students. 
2015 In 2015/16, 10% of all the new patent filings arising from the University of Oxford originated from the CoE.
  Prof. Dermot O’Hare was awarded an MPLS Impact Acceleration Account Secondment Fund Award to spend a sabbatical year with SCG Chemicals in Bangkok, Thailand.
2016 Prof. Dermot O’Hare was awarded a Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division Impact Award in recognition of the creation of the SCG-Oxford Centre of Excellence in Chemistry.
  Prof Dermot O’Hare and SCG's presentation to HRH Princess Sirindhorn at the British Embassy, Bangkok in 2016.
2017 In March 2017 the first pilot plant for nanomaterial synthesis was opened as a joint collaboration between SCG, University of Oxford and Beijing University of Chemical Technology.
2019 The SCG-Oxford Centre of Excellence for Chemistry was named 2019 winner of the prestigious Industry-Academia Collaboration Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry
2022 In 2022 SCG and Oxford announced the launch of SCG FIRST Awards for innovation – see link (building on the success of the former SCG SIF Awards in Chemistry).
 

From 2022 onwards SCG and the University of Oxford have agreed to expand the Centre of Excellence to fund collaboration beyond Chemistry and throughout all University Divisions. The work will centre on the five themes of:

  • Chemical Circular Economy
  • Carbon dioxide utilisation
  • Green Hydrogen
  • Low Carbon Feedstocks
  • Environmental, Social and Governance

 

History

The SCG-Oxford Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a unique collaboration between SCG and the University of Oxford. It focuses on the research and development in the areas of energy utilisation and Carbon Net Zero, the Circular Economy and the future of plastics and polymers.

Professor Dermot O’Hare serves as the Director and Dr Suracha Udomsak (VP of SCGC) as co-director. The main objective of the CoE is to act as a hub for academic/industry collaboration as well as delivering new innovation to SCG and impact at academic level.

Since its establishment in 2012, the CoE has included many people; including fourteen professors, a deputy director, three early career fellows, ten PDRAs, six PhD students, and two administrators, who over the past decade have contributed to the success of the collaboration. At SCG, from the President to lawyers and industrial researchers, many people are directly involved in producing academic and industrial relevant chemistry.

In 2019 SCG created the wholly owned UK entity, SENFI UK.  SENFI UK is based in purpose built laboratories at the Centre of Enterprise and Innovation, University Science Park at Begbroke.