A unique Syngenta formulation robot has been officially launched by HRH The Princess Royal. Princess Anne carried out the first experiments when she visited the company’s Jealott’s Hill R&D site in Berkshire last week.
The fully automated robot is a breakthrough in innovation and speed of delivery. It will formulate and test hundreds of potential turf, amenity and crop protection products every day, at speeds that scientists can only dream of with existing technology. The system will help Syngenta scientists to be more innovative and productive than ever before when creating new products.
The culmination of a five year project bringing together scientists, engineers and software specialists, the robot can make almost any liquid agrochemical formation, in small amounts, and perform a basic series of tests to see if those formulations are of interest for further research.
The robot is the latest part of an additional £35 million investment in Jealott’s Hill – Europe’s largest agrochemical research and development centre. Syngenta invests around $1 billion on R&D globally each year, with £100 million in the UK.
Syngenta www.syngenta.com