PKN Orlen runs open international contest for innovative solutions

Poland's largest refiner PKN ORLEN has launched Poland’s first open contest to find innovative solutions to improve the energy efficiency of production processes, a press release read. Contestants from all over the world, including research institutes, companies, independent researchers, consultants and students, are invited to submit their proposed solutions. PKN Orlen chose a crowdsourcing model to implement its new R&D approach, the company informed. The aim is to find the most creative technology concept for efficient recovery and utilisation of low-temperature heat from distillation columns. To manage the project, the refiner has partnered with NineSigma, which has organised similar initiatives for BASF, GE and Siemens. Contestants can enter their submissions via a dedicated NineSights web platform, available from the PKN ORLEN challenge website.