NEW DELHI, FEB 19: From "Lycra" the wonder stretch fabric to "Typar" geo-textiles that prevent embankment erosion, "Teflon" non-stick coating used in homes and industries to "Kevlar" used by the armed forces in bullet proof vests, DuPont's stable of hi-tech products have almost become generic terminology worldwide.Now, in an unusual partnership, the US-based multinational, EI DuPont, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have drawn up the blueprint for a "think tank" to develop cutting edge technologies.DuPont is not new to India. The company has been here for the last 25 years. What is new is the tie-up between the government-run CSIR labs and the global technology leader in the private sector."This is a unique collaborative effort" is how DuPont Vice President for R&D and Chief Science and Technology Officer, Joseph Miller describes the new venture.Scientists from DuPont, many of them of Indian origin, will work closely with their Indian counterparts in CSIR laboratories to evolve technologies which have direct applications to industry.Miller, who met CSIR Director General R A Mashelkar here Friday, said finishing touches were being given to the new venture which is likely to be formally announced by Mashelkar in about a month's time.DuPont, a world technology leader with a $ 26 billion turnover, is already working closely with different CSIR laboratories in assaying chemicals, creating new crop protection chemicals and developing new polyesters.DuPont's plans for the future are concentrated on biotechnology and renewable resources and almost 50 per cent of the company's $ 1.7 billion R&D budget is devoted to biotech research.One of its newer success stories is"3GT", a brand of polyester used in plastic and film, which is completely recyclable. The raw material for the multi-purpose polyester is glucose derived from corn and sugar beets, thus eliminating the need to use petrochemical feedstocks.In the coming decade, DuPont hopes to earn over 25 per cent of its revenues from materials derived from renewable resources. "We've set ourselves a target of 2010. But for this the search for newer technologies has to continue apace", says Miller.DuPont plans to set up a pilot plant to manufacture 3GT sometime this year, though a final decision on plant location is yet to be taken up. However, Miller is optimistic that commercial production would be onstream by 2002.Other exciting products on the anvil include "biosilk", where DuPont scientists have isolated the gene used by spiders to spin webs, expressed these genes into micro-organisms and spun a super-strong yet super-soft yarn which it hopes will form the silk fabric of the future.Another polymer intermediate, "Tulipolin", has been mastered from a gene drawn from tulips, which thanks to biotechnology has yielded a high performance polymer. The high tensile strength and temperature resistance of "tulipolin" will find myriad uses in industry, according to Miller.Applauding the high level of scientific research and intellectual resources in India, Miller said DuPont was seriously considering a proposal to establish a global research and development centre in India, roping in not just the IITs but also University science departments.
