Chemours officially opens $150M Discovery Hub

The Chemours Discovery Hub, located on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus, houses more than 300 researchers and scientists. | PHOTO COURTESY OF CHEMOURS

NEWARK – The Chemours Co., the Wilmington-based global chemistry company, celebrated the grand opening of its $150 million innovation center Monday on the University of Delaware’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus.

The Chemours Discovery Hub is a 312,000-square-foot, research-and-development facility that is home to 330 of the company’s top researchers and scientists, consolidating most of the company’s U.S. innovation efforts. The center features more than 130 individual laboratories for the company that specializes in fluoroproducts, chemical solutions and titanium technologies.

Construction on the project was completed in December, just two years after officials broke ground on the technical project that required a great deal of scientific infrastructure to be installed for its labs.

Notably, the Discovery Hub will also connect Chemours staff with the University of Delaware, performing experiments alongside professors and students to develop new applications for its products. Additionally, the company will use its facility to attract and recruit potential interns, co-ops and employees.

“This is about so much more than a new R&D facility; it’s about our company’s investment in young minds who will be introduced to chemistry at the Discovery Hub, our continued investment in Delaware, and our investment in an innovation pipeline that will empower our customers and change the world for the better,” said Mark Vergnano, president and CEO of Chemours, in a statement. “The Chemours Discovery Hub is a living symbol of the company we are becoming – open, collaborative, imaginative, and focused on the future. We are thrilled to see what innovations our team will dream up in this building, all within the creative environment of a public university.”

UD President Dennis Assanis touted the work to be done at the university’s STAR Campus, where Chemours will be among the anchor employers in a mix of research, academic and manufacturing.

“When we broke ground on the Chemours Discovery Hub here on the STAR Campus two years ago, we expressed our shared vision of a state-of-the-art research partnership that would expand the boundaries of scientific knowledge, inspire the important work of our talented people, and fuel our economy for years to come,” he said in a statement. “Today, we see that vision becoming a reality.”

The Chemours Discovery Hub is one of the largest R&D centers in the state and one of the largest R&D facilities within the chemical industry.

Gov. John Carney, who joined company and university leaders at a Monday ribbon cutting, said that the Chemours project will “continue a long tradition of important scientific discovery in Delaware, and keep good, high-paying jobs right here in our state.”

“Collaboration between Delaware employers and our educational institutions has never been more important to the future of our economy,” Carney added in a statement. “This partnership at the STAR campus between Chemours and the University of Delaware will drive innovation, connect students with leaders in their fields, and keep many of our most talented young innovators in Delaware.”

By Jacob Owens

jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com