Process intensification (PI) has been identified as a key challenge for the future industrial competitiveness of the chemical and related process industries in Europe.

The F³ Factory approach seeks to combine innovative PI reactor technologies with PI downstream processes in a standardised and modularised format. The feasibility of F³ Factory modularised process concepts will then be demonstrated across the seven industrial case study projects.

As part of the overall project objective to design and deliver modular, continuous production concepts - the F3 Factory project is seeking to develop novel production technology that will drive a new paradigm in sustainable manufacturing for the EU chemical processing sector.

The second F³ Factory newsletter has been published during last weeks INVITE opening ceremony and the successional F³ Factory concortium days. A PDF version of the newsletter can be obtained by following the link below.

Arkema, in collaboration with PDC, Ehrfeld, Coatex and three academic partners, CNRS Nancy, TU Dortmund and ICSC-PAS, is leading one of seven industrial case studies within the F3 Factory consortium. The project seeks to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of modular medium scale plants, exemplified by the production process of acrylic acid and its derivatives from biomass-based glycerol.

Evonik Industries AG is leading an F³ Factory industrial case study to demonstrate the flexible, continuous production of intermediate chemicals. Working with academic partners – TU Dortmund, TU Eindhoven and Newcastle University - the project seeks to develop and validate a generic methodology for modularized production plants of medium scale e.g. for fence-to-fence applications in emerging markets.

F³ Factory is an important large scale demonstrator project. Processes developed in the proposed standardized infrastructure will be demonstrated in a common large scale backbone facility called INVITE.

Achieving the paradigm shift in manufacturing technology embodied in the F3 Factory objectives requires both a detailed assessment of existing process methodologies and the development of new methodologies that will improve both the speed and flexibility of current manufacturing processes...

AstraZeneca is leading an F³ Factory industrial case study to demonstrate the flexible, continuous production of new pharmaceutical materials for toxicological studies. Working with academic partners - KTH Institute of Technology, Denmark Technical University, Newcastle University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - as well as an industrial partner Britest, the project seeks to develop and validate a generic methodology for the preparation of pharmaceutical intermediates.

Rhodia, in collaboration with BASF and two academic partners, CNRS Nancy and TU Dortmund, is responsible for one of seven case studies within the consortium, in which a demonstration pilot plant is being designed and built. The project, known as the ‘Europoly’ project, seeks to demonstrate the technical and economical viability of the F3 Factory concept for the production of solution polymers.

Frequently asked questions concering the F³ Factory project have been compiled. Together with the respective answers, they have been published on the F³ Factory project website.