PKN ORLEN has closed the submission stage of its open global contest to find innovative solutions improving the energy efficiency of the refinery’s processes. Undeterred by the challenge and difficulty of the task, innovators from 20 different countries were interested by the contest. Only six most promising solutions will make it to the final stage.

In the next stage contestants from all over the world, including research institutes and companies, as well as independent researchers and inventors, have submitted their proposed solutions, out of which a team of PKN ORLEN engineers and experts will select the most promising ones. Three winners will each receive a prize of EUR 10,000. Those who come up with the best projects may be invited to negotiate with PKN ORLEN over their pilot implementation, with a possibility of installing them on as many as seven process units if successful. The winners will be announced on March 31st 2016.

It is a significant challenge to implement crowdsourcing projects, especially considering the different areas from which they have originated. Such projects also call for an individualised approach to communication given the diverse groups of recipients involved, including universities, companies, research institutes, independent inventors, consultants, and students. On the other hand, it is an opportunity to reach a wide group of experts and innovators from all over the world. Proposals were received, among others, from United States, Holland, Germany or India - and also from Poland, which particularly pleased us – said Andrzej Kozłowski Executive Director for Strategy and Project Management of PKN ORLEN

As part of the contest – organised by PKN ORLEN using modern channels of communication, such as Twitter, NineSights, Webinarium and LinkedIn – all participants had the unique opportunity to find and review in real time all information regarding the project, as well as directly share knowledge with PKN ORLEN’s and NineSigma’s experts. The aim is to find the optimum technology concept for efficient recovery and utilisation of low-temperature heat from distillation columns. To manage the project, the Company has partnered with NineSigma, an international crowdsourcing leader, which has organised similar initiatives for BASF, GE and Siemens − companies in the vanguard of innovative industrial technologies.