Germany’s Evonik pledges €400m/year for R&D until 2025

LONDON (ICIS)–Evonik plans to spend €400m on research and development every year until 2025, as part of efforts to make innovation a “key driver of sustained value creation”, the German chemical major’s CEO said on Thursday.

Klaus Engel said that after increasing R&D expenditure in 2014 by 5% year on year, from €394m to €413m, this level of R&D investment will continue for the next 10 years.

The company appointed a chief innovation officer earlier this year. The chosen executive, Ulrich Kusthardt, has implemented a three-point plan he hopes will help Evonik boost its innovation record.

“[Firstly] we must become more focused in our projects, [secondly, we must be] more international in our research, and [thirdly, we should be] more open in our exchange of knowledge,” Kusthardt said during a R&D press conference at the company’s headquarters in Essen, Germany.

Kusthardt heads a department of 2,600 employees working at 35 R&D sites, Evonik said.

The company said its R&D pipeline is “well-filled with some 500 projects”, including research into ingredients for the cosmetics industry, membranes, specialty materials for medical technology, food supplements and animal feed additives, as well as composite materials.

The company added that its patent registration record places it among the most innovative chemical firms in the world. According to a press release, the firm held over 25,000 patents and patent applications in 2014.

Moreover, some 250 new patents were filed last year – the equivalent of almost one invention per business day, the company said.

Kusthardt added that the firm wants to enhance its international R&D centres by strengthening the competitiveness of customers, especially in “attractive growth regions”, with research and applied technology that focuses on local needs.

As part of efforts to acquire external knowledge from other R&D institutions and companies around the world, Evonik said it has set aside €100m to grab acquisition opportunities when convenient to the company’s strategy.

Evonik recently acquired Finland-based Nanocomp, which develops nano-optical structures for applications in 3D gesture recognition, medical technology and displays.

One key focus for Evonik is making more efficient composite materials, such as its hybrid polymer systems which, according to Kusthardt, can save time and cost for manufacturing processes.

“Composites are a key technology for lightweight design because of their ability to combine very good mechanical properties and low weight. Their processing properties are mainly determined by the polymer,” Evonik stated in a press statement.

“Thermosetting plastics have very good mechanical properties but require longer processing times compared to thermoplastic materials. But then again, thermoplastic polymers are easy to process, quick to reshape and to recycle. However, they rarely demonstrate the excellent mechanical properties of thermosetting plastics,” it added.