CHEMUK is back with hundreds of exhibitors and speakers and this year for the first time it will have a new theme devoted to all things lab in a chemicals context.
One of the highlights of the chemicals industry calendar, CHEMUK returns to the NEC in Birmingham for the two-day CHEMUK EXPO 2023, which runs from 10-11 May.
Well over 400 exhibitors have been confirmed to attend the show, and they will be complemented by the presence of more than 150 contributing speakers presenting at the conference sessions.
Now an established industry highlight, CHEMUK is in fact just four years old. The first event was staged in 2019 and proved so successful that, even after the pandemic shut down live events, CHEMUK’s growth continued in successive years.
As befits an industry-wide event, the exhibition floor is divided into zones that focus on those main areas of development, production and supply.
This year, there is an addition of particular interest to Laboratory News readers and those active in the area. The new Laboratory & Innovation Zone will showcase specialist laboratory chemical and chemical equipment suppliers
In the sizeable exhibition space, a trio of three focused zones will feature. These include those established inclusions, the Process & Plant Engineering Zone, together with the Chemical Industries Supply Chain Zone.
But this year, there is an addition of particular interest to Laboratory News readers and those active in the area. The new Laboratory & Innovation Zone will showcase specialist laboratory chemical and chemical equipment suppliers supporting research and development, analysis, process design and development, flow chemistry, scale-up, and quality testing within the chemical and chemical product industries.
Those confirmed as exhibitors include: Radleys, Huber UK, Temperature Control, IKA England, Ziath, Kays Medical, Asynt, ThalesNano, IS-Instruments, Labtex, Autichem, AM Technology, Fluorochem, Doug Discovery, ESSLAB, Metrohm UK, Chromatography Direct and GPE Scientific.
CHEMUK 2023 Speaker Programme
As well as offering a chance to view key products and solutions, CHEMUK provides a substantial opportunity for learning and knowledge sharing with more than 150 speakers, running across the show’s five auditoriums, with a vast range of contributing speakers.
Highlights include the two keynote talks: Chemistry: A catalyst for change – Royal Society of Chemistry with RSC President, Professor Gill Reid (Wednesday: 13.40 to 14.00, Stage 1).
Innovating for Sustainability – Designing for consumer trust with Chris Finnegan, Safety and Sustainability Science Leader – Unilever SEAC (Wednesday: 12.30 to 13.00, Stage 2).
Stage 1 speaker Gill Reid, is a long-serving member of the chemical science community and a passionate advocate for our discipline. As she continues her two-year presidency with the Royal Society of Chemistry, join this session to discover the opportunities she sees for the sector and the priorities she has in her role.
Stage 2 speaker Chris Finnegan will provide an overview of Unilever’s sustainable technologies and innovations strategy with a focus on their Home Care Business Group and its Clean Future ambition. Fundamental to delivering the Clean Future ambition is designing products for consumer trust that are underpinned by robust safety and environmental science.
The session will be highlighting how this requires the modernisation of regulatory approaches based on advanced science and technology and the importance of collaborative partnerships in order to address these technical challenges and to advocate for science-based approaches.
Meanwhile, Net Zero and the circular economy are the focus for Innovate UK’s double presentation over two days: How can the chemical sector move to a more resource efficient future? (Wednesday: 13.30 to 15.00, Stage 2, Thursday: 11.00 to 12.30, Stage 2).
Transition presents a number of challenges for the sector, says Innovate UK, but also a number of opportunities. Day 1 will hone in on Innovate UK’s strategy for innovation funding and opportunities for the chemical sector. It’s also a chance to hear from organisations which are involved in cutting-edge projects that can help transition the sector to a more resource efficient future. Day 2 will focus on emerging threats and opportunities, primarily the need to move towards a more resilient supply of critical materials. It’s a chance hear about Government strategy and funding in this area, as well as from projects and solutions being developed and supported by Innovate UK.
Stage 5 plays host to Scaling up batch to flow to cut costs and energy in half with Stoli Chem MD Dr Nikolay Cherkasov (Wednesday: 11.30 to 11.45, Stage 5).
Continuous chemical manufacturing provides just-in-time manufacturing at lower labour costs with ample sustainability benefits. Compared to multipurpose batch plants, continuous plants are often narrow in scope, bespoke and expensive.
The talk examines how a novel reactor that contains 10 stirred tanks (CSTRs) in a single vessel can be multifunctional and scalable, using batch knowledge. It also shows with case studies the benefit of CSTR-in-series continuous operation and the pathway from grams to tonne production.
Finally, GAMBICA’s topical session Lab Automation – The full ticket or item by item? (Wednesday: 13.00 to 14.00, Stage 5) examines how to review laboratory processes, identify the best ROI and seek funding help.
CHEMUK 2023 takes place on 10 and 11 May 2023 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. Opening times are Day 1: 9.30am-5pm, Day 2: 9.30am-4pm. Register for your FREE entry badge via the link below.
For more information, click here.
