GE and NIMS Signed a “Master Research Agreement”

On June 30, General Electric Company (GE; Head Office: Fairfield, Connecticut, USA) and National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS; Headquarters: Tsukuba, Ibaraki Pref., Japan) signed a “Master Research Agreement” (basic agreement on research cooperation) covering a 3-year period. Based on this agreement, GE and NIMS will conduct joint research on advanced materials science and technology and promote collaboration, envisioning practical application in the future.

In May 2009, GE and NIMS signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on technical collaboration with the aim of identifying future projects in the field of materials science and engineering which will contribute to promoting a cleaner, more sustainable energy portfolio and environment-related technologies.

As part of the MOU, technical exchanges and joint work were carried out by NIMS and GE Global Research (Headquarters: Niskayuna, New York), which is responsible for R&D at GE. Through this relationship, the two sides deepened their mutual understanding of the technical problems and needs they confront, and the advanced technology considered capable of addressing those issues. This was a main factor leading to the recent conclusion of the “Master Research Agreement.”

GE possesses a wealth of experience and networks resulting from the development of projects in more than 100 countries around the world, while NIMS boasts world-class scientific knowledge in materials research. The fusion of these two strengths is expected to open the way to practical application of outstanding products which make the maximum use of excellent materials.

Based on material property requirements and needs proposed by GE, which is involved in global project development in diverse fields, NIMS can carry out materials science research efficiently, matched to those needs, and as a result, NIMS-developed materials are expected to contribute to society.

Based on this agreement, NIMS and GE plan to accelerate technical collaboration toward practical application in various projects in the future, beginning with development of a process that simultaneously satisfies oxidation resistance and densification requirements, which had been an issue with conventional coating technologies.