It all started with the key question in catalyst research: How can the optimum catalyst for a chemical reaction be found both quickly and efficiently? The company was born out of this challenge.
hte traces its roots back to the Goethe University in Frankfurt and the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mühlheim an der Ruhr. This is where Professor Ferdi Schüth conducted research in the field of heterogeneous catalysis and recognized the potential to significantly accelerate the development of catalysts by using high-throughput technologies. Ferdi then got several of his employees excited about the idea – and just a few months later, the team had already developed the prototype of a parallel reactor and validated the technology. The quality of the data was outstanding, and it became apparent that the catalytic experiments could be accelerated by a factor of 50 to 100.
„The founding years of hte were the most exciting and challenging years of my professional life. They involved getting ideas off the ground, convincing customers, and establishing a customer-oriented structure. Now I’m simply really proud of hte and its employees!“
Ferdi Schüth, Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board until 2003
However, definitive proof of the economic and industrial benefits was still lacking. The team of researchers therefore decided to contact the catalyst R&D department at BASF targeting to setting up a joint research and development project. This marked the start of a highly successful cooperation with a strong partner.
The first plans for founding a company began to take shape during this time. On March 26, 1999, the seven founders then put their rather unusual idea into practice and “hte – the high throughput experimentation company” was officially launched.
„What makes hte special is its unique culture. The enthusiasm for tackling new challenges. This is one-of-a-kind and still palpable even after many years, despite the growth.“
