SABIC, Lockheed Martin to Partner on Carbon Nanostructure Materials
SABIC and Lockheed Martin have announced the launching of a partnership to explore the establishment of a new joint venture company in Saudi Arabia to develop carbon nanostructure materials for a variety of end markets and applications.
Under a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), SABIC and Lockheed Martin will coordinate on the development, industrial validation, testing, scale-up, production and sale of carbon nanostructure materials and carbon nanostructure infused products.
Commenting on the joint venture MoU, Ernesto Occhiello, SABIC Executive Vice President, Technology Innovation, said the memorandum was part of an initiative to develop new specialty-based business opportunities for SABIC and develop higher value-added businesses in Saudi Arabia. "We are happy that Lockheed Martin has shown their intention to share their newly developed technology with SABIC. An innovative partner like Lockheed Martin is indeed valuable to us, and we hope the initiative will be the beginning of a longer term relationship with the company."
A carbon nanostructure is a cross-linked and highly entangled arrangement of carbon nanotubes on a base material. Carbon nanostructures can be grown at scale on various substrates and formed into materials with superior structural and conductive properties.
"We believe the combination of Lockheed Martin's advanced nanotechnologies with SABIC's premier capabilities will lead to exciting opportunities for innovative, new materials," said Dale Bennett, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training. "As we partner with SABIC, Lockheed Martin is proud to expand our nearly 50 year relationship supporting the Kingdom's people, industry, government and academia."
Samir Al-Abdrabbuh
Vice President, Corporate Communications
About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 25.3 billion (US$ 6.7 billion) in 2013. Sales revenues for 2013 totaled SR 189 billion (US$ 50.4 billion). Total assets stood at SR 339.1 billion (US$ 90.4 billion) at the end of 2013.
SABIC's businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 19 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India, China and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide.
SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 113,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.
