A new, budget-friendly method that uses heat to start important chemical reactions could make large-scale drug production faster and more efficient. Researchers in the UK have discovered that heating two common, inexpensive chemicals together in a standard industrial reactor can cause a wide range of chemical changes. This simple approach could be easily scaled up from small to large quantities, with potential applications in producing kilogram amounts and more. Unlike modern methods that use light or electricity to start these reactions, this new approach doesn’t require expensive, specialized equipment. When tested on a larger scale, the process produced one of the desired products in good quantity and high purity, with minimal side reactions. The researchers hope that this simple method will be useful in various areas of science and manufacturing, as well as in academic research. The study was published in the journal Nature Synthesis.