Evonik Magazine 1/2008 Editorial 3

Evonik Magazine 1 Evonik Magazine | 1 2008 | 2008

Treasure from the Deep Manganese and other ores can meet tomorrow’s need for raw materials

1_Evonik_01-08_EN 1 20.02.2008 17:09:42 Uhr Anzeigen.indd 2 108Bc_use2020EGid 1 215078_Bach_Bueste_220x270_ENG.indd We are committed to culture. Passionatelyso. toculture. We arecommitted in theRuhr Region. We forﬁ care ne art 13.02.2008 19:07:14 Uhr 50.081:72 Uhr 10:17:23 15.01.2008

www.evonik.com EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 EDITORIAL 3

In the Land of Limitless Opportunities Evonik Magazine reports on a journey across the U.S., on the race for raw materials from the ocean ﬂ oor, and of course on activities associated with RUHR.2010

Dear readers,

Tom Schimmeck knows the U.S. well from his many trips to the country and his numerous reports about it for newspapers and magazines. He loves the openness of the people

PHOTOGRAPHY: J. KROEMER PHOTOGRAPHY: he’s met in this “land of limitless opportunities.“ One of them is Derrick Freeman, Tom Schimmeck a barber he met in Hopewell, Virginia, when at the Evonik plant in Greensboro, he was commissioned by Evonik Magazine North Carolina to report on the Group’s major production locations in Hopewell, Greensboro, and Mobile. After his trip of 2,000 kilometers, Shimmeck concludes: “The USA is a country that’s worth visiting again and again.“

Constanze Sanders is an expert on business topics, from overall economic statistics to goods logistics and the search for raw materials. She worked as a business journalist at Der Spiegel magazine for 15 years. Her office in Hamburg has a harbor view, and she’s particularly interested in maritime issues. That’s why she took on the assignment concerning raw materials from the ocean. She spent several weeks gathering information about the international search for raw Constanze Sanders materials on the ocean floor and tracking down the details in talks with numerous experts in the field.

Ideas are the stock in trade of Asli Sevindim, the Artistic Director of RUHR.2010. As a journalist and TV presenter, this lively young woman generates ideas almost nonstop, because she’s always on the move. Our author Catrin Krawinkel, though herself a fitness freak, had to work

Catrin hard to keep up with Ms. Sevindim as they traveled through the Ruhr Krawinkel region and explored Essen on foot. Krawinkel reports, somewhat breathlessly, “When you’re traveling with her you realize very quickly what the term ‘superwoman’ is all about.“

Pleasant reading! The editorial team of Evonik Magazine

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38 AMERICA 50 ASLI SEVINDIM

4_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:4 20.02.2008 17:15:58 Uhr EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 CONTENTS 5

EDITORIAL MASTHEAD 3 From the Heights to the Depths Publisher: Evonik Industries AG Christian Kullmann RESEARCHING Rellinghauser Str. 1–11 45128 Essen 6 Treasure from the Deep Editor in Chief: At a depth of 5,000 meters, the seabed is rich in the raw materials that the world so urgently needs for further growth. Inken Ostermann (responsible for Companies and researchers from around the globe are looking for ways to raise this treasure from the deep editorial content) Coordination Evonik: Ute Bauer INFORMING Art Direction: 22 Energy Consumption Wolf Dammann Final Editing (Head): Evonik Magazine’s energy map not only shows how much primary energy is consumed by individual countries but also Kurt Breme illustrates which nations would have to take the lead in cutting consumption Managing Editor: Frauke Meyer SHAPING Picture Desk: Ulrich Thiessen 24 The Inventors Documentation: An inventive trio: in conjunction with Professor Paul Roth from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Dr. Andreas Gutsch and Kerstin Weber-Rajab, Tilman Baucken; Hamburg Dr. Gerhard Hörpel — both of whom work at Evonik Industries — created the modern lithium-ion battery Design: Teresa Nunes (Head), DEVELOPING Anja Giese, Heike Hentschel, Nadine Weiler / Redaktion 4 30 Saving Money and Protecting the Climate Copy Desk: Using solar cells, geothermal energy, and an innovative environmentally friendly roofing tile, Evonik Industries is not only Wilm Steinhäuser enabling people to cut their domestic bills, but also helping to protect the environment Translation: TransForm, Cologne Publisher and address: EXPERIENCING HOFFMANN UND CAMPE VERLAG 32 Kevin Spacey to Star in Ruhrfestspiele Again GmbH, a GANSKE VERLAGSGRUPPE company, The Old Vic Theatre Company from London will once again participate in the Ruhrfestspiele — alongside many Harvestehuder Weg 42 renowned stage actors from Germany and abroad 20149 Hamburg Telephone +49 (0)40/ 441 88-457, INFORMING Fax -236, e-mail: [email protected] 36 Evonik at Hannover Messe Management: Evonik Industries AG will present its innovations at Hannover Messe this year. In Berlin and Brussels, the new German Manfred Bissinger, Dr. Kai Laakmann, company introduced itself to ministers, business officials, and members of the German and European parliaments Dr. Andreas Siefke Publication Manager: TRAVELING Dr. Jessica Renndorfer Production: 38 On the Road Again Claude Hellweg (Head), Oliver Lupp On his trip through the U.S., Tom Schimmeck traveled all the way from New York to the deep south. Along the way, Lithography: he visited historic sites and Evonik Industries’ state-of-the-art production plants PX2, Hamburg Printing: Laupenmühlen Druck, Bochum INSPIRING Copyright: 50 Never a Dull Moment © 2008 by Evonik Industries AG, Essen. Reprinting only with Writer, journalist, and TV host Asli Sevindim is always on the move. That’s been especially true since she became cultural the permission of the publisher. director of RUHR.2010. One of her key tasks is to present the Ruhr region to its best advantage The contents do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. Contact: DEBATING Questions and suggestions on the contents of the magazine: 56 Are Managers’ Salaries Too High? Telephone +49 (0)201 / 177-3831, In Germany, high salaries for managers and low wage increases for employees have sparked a heated debate about Fax -2908, remuneration for business leaders. Some experts have even suggested that salaries be curtailed by law e-mail: [email protected] Questions about orders or LIVING subscriptions: Telephone +49 (0)40/ 68879-139, 58 Hooked on Virtual Reality Fax -199, Augmented reality is meant to create a closer link between the virtual and the real worlds. While some people are thrilled e-mail: [email protected] by its potential, others fear its impact. But the real question is: how will we deal with it in our daily lives? The designations AEROSIL®, FAVOR®, SEPARION®, and STOKO® are registered trademarks of Evonik Industries AG or its subsidiaries.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARUM BREMEN (TOP LEFT), LAURENT PHILIPPE (TOP RIGHT), JOHANNES KRÖMER (BOTTOM LEFT), NORBERT ENKER (BOTTOM RIGHT); COVER: WILDLIFE, BGR, OKAPIA LEFT) (FROM COVER: RIGHT); ENKER (BOTTOM NORBERT LEFT), (BOTTOM JOHANNES KRÖMER RIGHT), LAURENT PHILIPPE (TOP LEFT), BREMEN (TOP MARUM PHOTOGRAPHY: Cover picture: Zircon, Manganese nodule, Tin All trademarks in the text are set in capitals.

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Energy from the Sea The oceans hold vast amounts of raw materials and energy sources. With precious metals prices soaring, mining at depths of up to ﬁ ve kilometers is attracting business interests — the battle for deep-sea prospecting rights is on

Active black smoker

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TEXT CONSTANZE SANDERS

HAWAII AND HANOVER aren’t as far apart as it seems — at least now that the Fed- eral Institute for Geosciences and Natural Re- sources (BGR), which is headquartered in Ha- nover, has leased ocean floor segments in an area stretching 4,000 kilometers across the Depth in meters Massive sulfides 0 Pacific. These segments, one of the richest 200 raw material regions in the world, are littered 1,000 with manganese nodules as big as potatoes 2,000 (around two billion tons of ore in all). They could be vital for Germany’s economic sur- 3,000 vival. “Our goal here is to help safeguard a fu- 4,000 ture supply of raw materials,” says Hans-

5,000 Joachim Kümpel, the new BGR president. There is real concern in Germany about 6,000 ensuring a reliable supply of basic materials. The visible steam of minerals from a black smoker comes As a report published by the Federation of from the earth’s magma: cold seawater seeps through German Industries (BDI) in the spring of 2007 cracks in the earth’s crust and is heated by upward-flowing notes, “it is not only oil and gas that are of stra- magma. At a temperature of approximately 400 degrees tegic importance, but also metals.” Celsius, it shoots up like a geyser, bringing metal along It currently takes around eight weeks for with it. Polymetallic sulfur compounds then sink to the a piece of iron ore from a mine in Algeria to ocean floor, where they become solid massive sulfide de- be transformed into the shiny hood of a mid- posits. Active black smokers can be found at depths of up sized automobile, assuming the logistics chain to four kilometers along the margins of the continental operates smoothly and enough ore is avail- plates, where they continually spew out valuable sub- able. Delivery times are one uncertainty fac- stances containing lead, copper, zinc — and even gold and tor, but prices are even more important, be- silver. Each of the currently known deposits consists of up cause speculation and delivery delays can to 100 million tons. cause them to skyrocket suddenly. Such de-

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARUM-FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM OZEANRÄNDER, UNIVERSITY OZEANRÄNDER, OF BREMEN MARUM-FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM PHOTOGRAPHY: velopments have in fact led to a gold rush-like >

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Deep-sea ore: This manganese nodule resembles a cauliﬂ ower

One nodule — a lot of metal

> atmosphere on commodity exchanges. The roughly three percent of its content that’s price of copper, for example, has risen by 250 made up of copper, nickel, and cobalt,” ex- percent since 2000, while nickel prices have plains BGR oceanographer Carsten Rühle- increased by 300 percent (see the graph on p. mann. “World market prices for these metals 18). The price increases have had a major im- are a thousand times higher than the price of pact: “Higher raw material costs have driven manganese.” up prices for German industrial products by €90 billion over the last five years,” says Ul- A BUSINESS WORTH BILLIONS rich Grillo, chairman of the BDI’s Interna- It is believed that the ocean floor segment tional Raw Materials group. leased by Germany contains up to 24 million German Chancellor Angela Merkel re- tons of valuable metals. At $28,000 cently launched an initiative to counteract this (€19,000) per ton of nickel (as of January development. “No matter where we go in the 2008), the materials could be worth billions. world, we often find that politicians from With such high prices “a new cost calcula- other countries have already been there and tion can be made,” says BGR project man- reached agreements that will supply their na- ager Michael Wiedicke-Hombach, meaning tions with raw materials for years to come,” that lower prices in the past didn’t justify the says Merkel. The chancellor’s plan thus calls high mining costs. for German industrial firms to invest in re- Ore crusts contain even more valuable search and mining companies in an effort to metals than are found in manganese nod- uncover and exploit new sources of raw ma- ules. They contain gold, silver, platinum, terials. One place where the materials can be and rare earth metals. The latter are not rare found is on the ocean floor. per se, but rather difficult and costly to ex- BGR researchers now have 15 years to de- tract from the natural compounds in which termine which metals, and in what quantities, they are embedded. Like manganese nod- are contained in the manganese nodules in ules, ore crusts are formed by hydrothermal the Pacific. The institute will also develop circulation, but in different ocean regions. technologies that will enable companies to More specifically, they are found at the mid- profitably extract minerals in an environ- ocean ridges that span the globe (where the mentally friendly manner from a depth of plates that form the ocean floor are drifting Brittlestar among manganese nodules 5,000 meters. “We’re not interested so much apart), and on the plate margins (where the

PHOTOGRAPHY: ABOVE: BGR; RIGHT: IFREMER INSTITUT/NODINAUT BGR; RIGHT: ABOVE: PHOTOGRAPHY: in the manganese itself but rather in the plates slide underneath one another), be- >

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Depth in meters Manganese nodules 0 200 1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

As much as ten million years old, these potato-sized ore chunks have formed concentri- cally around a core. Their metal content varies. The most interesting deposits, from a business perspective, contain (in percent) manganese (29), iron (6), silicon (5), aluminum (3), nickel (1.4), copper (1.3), cobalt (0.25), ox- ygen (1.5), hydrogen (1.5), sodium (1.5), calcium (1.5), magnesium (0.5), potassium (0.5), titanium (0.2), and barium (0.2). These ore fields were discovered by scientists and cartographers on the HMS Challenger, a ship with onboard labs that sailed around the world in the 1870s. Today, manganese nodule fields are easily identified using underwater photos. Biologists on the submersible Nautile took this photo to advocate protection of these habitats.

9_Evonik_01-08_EN 9 25.02.2008 13:20:54 Uhr Geologists analyze massive sulﬁ des that have been removed from a depth of 1,500 meters off the coast of New Guinea using state-of-the-art

PHOTOGRAPHY: NAUTILUS MINERALS NAUTILUS PHOTOGRAPHY: technology Diving for coveted raw materials

Nautilus Minerals, a Canadian company specializing in deep-sea mineral research and mining, collaborated with the company Placer Dome to study the ocean ﬂ oor in the Suzette Field off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The partners used a remote-controlled diving robot to map the seabed. The robot was also equipped with a pair of gripping pliers, which took rock samples for analysis

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Shallow-water minerals Seabed mining has a long tradition in coastal regions, where rock consisting of minerals, lime, and detritus is processed to extract phosphate, which is a good fertilizer and an ingre- dient in cosmetics and Coca-Cola. Rich deposits on Nauru Island are now depleted, while huge reserves of up to 35 million tons of phosphate can be found east of New Zealand and off India. The ocean apparently replenishes itself. Indonesia and Thailand are now mining tin ore in coastal waters, and half of all Indonesian exports originate in the Java Sea. De Beers of South Africa, the major diamond company, is mining gemstones at a depth of just 200 meters off the coast of Namibia (annual revenue: $250 million). These stones account for nearly half of the company’s production. De Beers is also expanding mining operations on the South African shelf. The minerals were brought to the coast over a period of 40 million years by the Oranje River, which separates South Africa and Namibia.

> cause circulating water is continually depos- lantis II, a deep-sea trench between the conti- tions, testing equipment, and taking samples. iting metallic particles in these areas. nents, likely contains the earth’s biggest min- “Nautilus uses the research results of German “The ocean basins are like pails with eral treasure chest — thousands of tons of gold, institutes,” says Herzig, who directed initial holes,” says geologist Peter Rona of Rutgers silver, copper, and zinc. The value of the de- sample drilling near Papua New Guinea. University in New Jersey. “That’s because the posits there was estimated to be nearly $3 bil- “We’ve demonstrated to industrial compa- volcanic rock in the earth’s crust under the lion at the time. Located two kilometers be- nies that such mining is possible.” ocean floor is constantly breaking up.” What low the sea, it currently awaits an investor. Nautilus went public in 2006, gaining happens is that water seeps into the earth’s hot strong financial partners as investors, in- interior and then shoots out again into the cold A NEW GOLD RUSH cluding Metalloinvest, one of Russia’s big- ocean at high pressure and a temperature of Researchers from IFM-Geomar have also gest iron ore producers, and Anglo American, 400 degrees Celsius, spewing out metal sul- been diving and studying the ocean floor — the world’s second-largest mining company. fide particles from the underlying rock in the most recently in the fall of 2007 with col- Deep-sea mining is slated to begin in 2009. process. The resulting funnels appear as what leagues from around the world, with whom To drill in international waters, a license are called “black smokers”: solid sulfur com- they discovered ore deposits at the foot of must be obtained from the International Sea- pounds (massive sulfides) rise up in funnels Stromboli Island near Sicily. “Commercial ex- bed Authority (see the box on p. 21). The au- several meters high and then collapse over ploitation hasn’t been considered yet,” says thority can only monitor the activities of the thousands of years, leaving in their wake tre- Sven Petersen, head of the research team. private firms operating off Papua New Guinea, mendous mountains of ore on the ocean floor. That’s because the quantities discovered to mainly as a means of benefiting from the com- “They contain everything our industrialized date are insufficient. Still, Neptune Minerals panies’ technological advances. It can’t inter- societies need,” says Peter Herzig, director of of the UK, one of the world’s leading pros- fere in operations, however, because the li- the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM- pecting firms, has requested a license from censes were issued by the country’s Geomar) at the University of Kiel. The sub- the Italian government to mine in the region. government for an area within its 200 sea- stances present include copper (for use with The pioneer of commercial deep-sea mining mile exclusive economic zone. Papua New electronic components), nickel and zinc (steel is a Canadian company, Nautilus Minerals, Guinea generates more than 80 percent of its forging), valuable indium (a soft silver-white which leased an inactive hydrothermal field export income from the sale of minerals, and metal used in flat screens and LEDs), and even from the government of Papua New Guinea the country is far from a role model for envi- gold, which can be added to a nation’s rein 1997. The field is at a depth of 1,600 me- ronmental protection. serves. There are currently about 150 known ters in the Bismarck Sea. “What we’re facing here is a no-holds- active black smokers. The first of the result- The black smokers have concentrated barred gold rush,” says Christian Neumann, ing mineral deposits was discovered 40 years raw material reserves over millions of years, marine conservation officer at the World ago in the northern Red Sea, where Africa and which is why scientists are drawing up de- Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Whereas the

PHOTOGRAPHY, LEFT: NAUTILUS MINERALS, RIGHT: NARUM-FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM OZEANRÄNDER, UNIVERSITY OZEANRÄNDER, OF BREMEN NARUM-FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM MINERALS, RIGHT: NAUTILUS LEFT: PHOTOGRAPHY, the Arabian Peninsula are drifting apart. At- posit maps, examining environmental condi- mining firms are primarily interested in the >

Continued on page 18

11_Evonik_01-08_EN 11 21.02.2008 12:48:22 Uhr A Wealth of Raw Materials As the demand for raw materials increases rapidly, many deposits on land are becoming The manganese claims depleted. The seabed is rich in reserves such as oil, natural gas, and versatile metals The Clarion-Clipperton zone in the manganese nodule belt of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico covers around five million square kilometers at depths reaching 5,000 meters. Clarion and Clipperton are the nearest uninhabited islands to the north and south. Following international conferences, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) specified borders between the claims on geological maps.

License holders: Bauxite Cobalt Diamonds Iron • COMRA — China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Aluminium ore High-carbon steel, saw blades, magnets Industrial drills, jewelry Steel, chemicals Development Association, Beijing, People’s Republic of China • DORD — Deep Ocean Resources Development Company — Japanese government and around 50 companies • The country of South Korea • IFREMER — Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer, French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea • Interoceanmetal Joint Organization — governmental cooper- ation between Bulgaria, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Slovakia founded in 1987 and based in Poland Petroleum Gold Ilmenite Coal • Yuzhmorgeologiya — state research center of the Russian Energy, chemicals, cosmetics Bars, jewelry, electronics Opaque pigment titanium white Power plants, blast furnaces Ministry of Natural Resources • BGR — German Federal Institute for Geological Sciences and Raw Materials, Hanover • ISA – International Seabed Authority reservations

Copper Manganese Nickel Platinum Electrical industry, Steel and steel materials, Steel, electroplating, Laboratory apparatus, alloys batteries consumer electronics jewelry, catalysts

HAWAII German licensed territories

Silver Titanium Tin Zircon Clarion Fracture Zone Electrodes, cutlery, Aerospace, submarine building, Cans, anti-fouling agent Ceramics for sinks, dental mirrors prostheses in paint prostheses, jewelry

Key IMAGES NORDMANN/PAN NORBERT LADE, ARNOLD, JOHN CANCALOSI/PETER FOCUS, HELGA BEN JOHNSON/SPL/AG. (2), A1 PIX/HSC, HARMS/WILDLIFE (3), OKAPIA D. (4), IDRIS KOLODZIEJ PETER ARNOLD/OKAPIA, WWW.CLEFF.DE, PHOTOGRAPHY:

Silver Coal Copper Mercury Platinum Tin Zircon Manganese nodule ﬁ elds Ilmenite, rutile Clipperton Fracture Zone Cobalt-rich Bauxite ore crust Diamonds Potash Rare earths (titanium-iron ore, Phosphorite titanium oxide) Mid-ocean 0 500 1000 Lime sludge, ridges Gold Sodium sand, shell Iron, iron oxide Monazite Sulfur Uranium chloride Kilometers residue Silicon sand, Polymetallic sulﬁ des COMRA DORD South Korea IFREMER/AFERNOD Interoceanmetal Yuzhmorgeologiya BGR ISA Barites Chromite Zinc Nickel gravel Fresh water Gas hydrates (black smokers) ILLUSTRATION: DIETER DUNEKA ILLUSTRATION:

E_13-16_TS_Klapper_innen 2-3 20.02.2008 19:06:19 Uhr A Wealth of Raw Materials As the demand for raw materials increases rapidly, many deposits on land are becoming The manganese claims depleted. The seabed is rich in reserves such as oil, natural gas, and versatile metals The Clarion-Clipperton zone in the manganese nodule belt of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico covers around five million square kilometers at depths reaching 5,000 meters. Clarion and Clipperton are the nearest uninhabited islands to the north and south. Following international conferences, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) specified borders between the claims on geological maps.

Copper Manganese Nickel Platinum Electrical industry, Steel and steel materials, Steel, electroplating, Laboratory apparatus, alloys batteries consumer electronics jewelry, catalysts

HAWAII German licensed territories

E_13-16_TS_Klapper_innen 2-3 20.02.2008 19:06:19 Uhr 12 SHAPING DEEP SEA EVONIK MAGAZINE 4/2007

Who Owns the Sea? Throughout history, people have coveted the sea’s riches — a chronicle

1494 Pope Alexander VI approves the Treaty the Law of the Sea concludes without any of Tordesillas (Spain) that splits the world’s concrete result. oceans between Portugal and Spain. 1967 Arvid Pardo, Permanent Representa- 1609 In his work titled Mare Liberum, the tive of Malta to the United Nations, holds Dutch theologian and jurist Hugo Grotius a three-hour speech at the UN, during which formulates the principle of the freedom of the he paves the way for the laws of the sea seas. It stipulates that everyone can fish and that are still in force today. Pardo argues that navigate the oceans wherever they like. Later, the freedom of the seas destroys natural countries also gain the right to dump materials resources, and proposes that the common and lay cables in the sea. Overflight rights are heritage of mankind should have priority. added in the 20th century. 1973-1982 The negotiators at the Third UN 1703 The jurist Cornelius van Bynkershoek

PHOTOGRAPHY: AP PHOTO/RTR PHOTOGRAPHY: Conference on the Law of the Sea agree that stipulates the limit of maritime dominion A Russian research submersible plants the the oceans’ resources should be managed for as the effective range of a cannon (approxi- country’s ﬂ ag on the seaﬂ oor at a depth of the benefit of mankind, that the environment mately three nautical miles*), which about 4,200 meters. Russia lays claim to the should be preserved, and that the common then serves as the definition of the extent Arctic Ocean and its vast reserves of natural heritage should be shared with future genera- resources of a country’s territorial waters. tions and used solely for peaceful purposes. As a result, no country can claim the seabed 1930 Several countries express their desire International waters to extend their national claims to incor- for its own. The International Seabed Author- porate fishing grounds and natural resources. ity (ISA) is established to control seabed ac- Continental shelf The League of Nations holds a conference tivities in international waters. in The Hague, but no agreement is reached. Exclusive 1994 The United Nations Convention on the 1945 As a result of pressure from the Economic Zone Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) goes into force. 200 nautical miles American oil industry, President Harry S. The ISA commences operations in Kingston, Truman extends U.S. control to all the Jamaica. In 2007, the ISA has 155 member natural resources of its continental shelf. countries. These include all countries of the Contiguous zone up to 12 nautical miles European Union, but not Turkey, Venezuela 1947 Offshore oil drilling commences in Territorial waters 12 nautical miles or the U.S. the Gulf of Mexico. Baseline for the measurement AUGUST 8, 2007 The race to the North Pole 1954 Drilling now extends to a depth of Internal of zones waters begins. Until then, the North Pole had been four kilometers. Marine resources attract Jurisdiction considered to lie in international waters. A the interest of growing numbers of investors: up to 24 nautical miles Land One nautical mile = 1.852 km Russian research submersible plants the coun- diamonds in South Africa, tin in Indonesia, DIETER DUNEKA ILLUSTRATION: try’s flag on the sea floor at a depth of about gravel for construction purposes, fishing No simple legal matter: the law of the sea 4,200 meters. Russia lays claim to the Arctic grounds. The seas are rich in resources that has complicated regulations for determining which natural resources can be used by Ocean and its vast reserves of natural re- appear to be inexhaustible. which country sources, including an estimated 25 percent of 1958 The first international convention on global oil and gas reserves, as well as deposits sea rights is signed in Geneva. The convention of tin, manganese, diamonds, nickel, and gold. • Fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (out serves as a “constitution” of the seas. Its to 200 nautical miles*) According to Article 76 of UNCLOS, a coun- four treaties regulate maritime activities such • The convention confirmed the freedom of try has a ten-year period from the time of as shipping, fishing, and deep-sea mining: the seas in the international waters beyond ratification to make claims that its continental • On the continental shelf (coastal waters these zones. shelf extends into international waters. For down to a depth of 200 meters) 1960 New technologies help companies ex- Russia, this period extends until 2009. Terri- • In the 12-mile zone* (plus a permissible ploit the ocean depths. The rivalry for these torial claims are also being made by Canada, contiguous zone out to 24 nautical miles*) riches intensifies. The Second Conference on Norway, Denmark, and the U.S.

* ONE NAUTICAL MILE = 1.852 KILOMETERS

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“Soft” Mining Technology Needed The environmental impact of deep-sea mining is still too great

TEXT CONSTANZE SANDERS tended to get out of control and damaged crobes it contains. The goal is to keep the the seabed. Bucket-chain dredgers that water column clean. Other technicians are THE MINING SYSTEM glides through continuously haul manganese nodules to considering a mobile system. the dark waters without touching the the surface between two ships also had a “About 50 to 60 systems could be in seafloor, while its grab carefully picks serious impact on the environment. use at the same time,” says Schriever. If manganese nodules out of the silt. Mean- But there is hope that the difficulties each unit covers a square kilometer of sea- while, high-pressure water pumps trans- can be overcome using high-pressure sys- bed each day, the systems could harvest an port the valuable nodules 5,000 meters up tems or pumps that employ a self-propelled area about the size of Massachusetts each to a ship lying at anchor on the surface. tracked vehicle and flexible conveyor year. Although this might sound like a That, at least, is how engineers and bi- hoses. Meanwhile, China has designed a great deal, the abyssal plains are vast, cov- ologists from some international compa- harvesting device that would use a hydrau- ering an area larger than all of the earth’s nies envisage mining on the seabed. Given lic drive to suck the nodules from the sea- continents combined. that five kilograms of manganese nodules bed. The system would also be equipped The littoral states would be responsi- could be collected from each square meter with a mill so that it could immediately ble for smelting the raw materials col- of seafloor, a mining machine could eco- grind the ore in the ocean depths. lected from the seabed. However, 85 per- nomically collect 5,000 tons of ore from cent of the 5,000 tons of manganese one square kilometer of seabed a day. DEEP-SEA MINING CONGRESS nodules collected each day would be left However, we still don’t have technolo- In view of these developments, German over as waste. “No one has so far consid- gies that would enable us to exploit these engineers are aiming to develop improved ered whether this waste material might be treasures — especially if companies also measuring systems and sensitive controls. toxic,” says Schriever. To discuss possible aim to avoid inflicting long-term damage “We want to harvest the nodules without technologies for deep-sea mining, re- on the seafloor’s ecosystems. “So far we having to touch the seabed,” says Johannes searchers and managers from German and can only simulate such a mining process,” Post from the maritime technology com- foreign high-tech refineries and mining says deep-sea expert Gerd Schriever from pany Hydromod in Hanover. “The collec- companies will meet with government of- the Biolab Research Institute in Hohen- tor will have to maintain a specified dis- ficials for a conference at Aachen Univer- westedt, Germany. A team from Japan has tance from the seafloor.” Post is designing sity in early March. The participants will tested systems developed in the 1970s that a floating collector that separates the man- focus on the mining of manganese nod- involve a ship towing a dragline. The re- ganese nodules from the silt, which is in- ules, cobalt-rich crusts, massive sulfide sults were not encouraging, as the dragline jected back into the sea along with the mi- deposits, and methane gas hydrates.

How technicians envisage extracting natural resources from 5,000 meters down Bucket-chain dredger: two ships pull an Production and transport ship with Soft miner, featuring a ﬂ oating collector, endless chain of buckets that continu- conveyor line, pump and self-propelled a conveyor line and a cable connecting it ously haul nodules of ore to the surface collector to the ship

1000 m Transport ship Production platform Transport ship Production platform interval Conveyor line Conveyor line with pump with pump Silt clouds Silt cloud

Manganese Manganese nodules collector nodule collector 300 meter long Silt Manganese nodules dragline Manganese nodules Silt Manganese nodules cloud cloud Seafl oor Seafl oor Seafl oor ILLUSTRATION: DIETER DUNEKA ILLUSTRATION:

17_Evonik_01-08_EN 17 20.02.2008 19:18:23 Uhr 18 SHAPING DEEP SEA EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

HWWI Index of World Market Prices of Commodities (in US$) Constantly

320 rising Overall index 300 Food The HWWI 280 Industrial raw materials 260 Commodity Price Crude oil 240 Index is Germany’s 220 most important 200 180 indicator of world 160 market commodity 140 120 prices and includes 100 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 all key imported industrial 2000 = 100. Monthly averages (the average for the last month shown is incomplete as long as the month has raw materials. not yet ended) Status: January 8, 2008 SOURCE: HWWI SOURCE:

> Continued from page 11 Today, however, precious metals are in great ther research, as well as new models and demand. A computer, for example, requires measuring techniques, will be needed to metals they can find, biologists like Neumann at least 30 high-quality non-metallic and prevent such damage in the future. are fascinated by the strange forms of life in metallic elements, such as indium. This Decisions regarding deep-sea mining are the ocean depths — such as one-celled organ- metal is becoming scarce because it can be based on comparisons of extraction costs and isms that live off hydrogen sulfide, eyeless extracted from zinc ore at only a few loca- metal prices. Steven Scott, a geologist at the spider crabs, and numerous types of seashells tions worldwide. Zinc is present in abun- University of Toronto, envisions a remote and starfish. Many crustaceans, sponges, and dance in deep-sea manganese nodules and controlled deep-sea version of a coal mining anemones also live near manganese nodules. ore crusts, however. Zircon, a versatile sili- system, which would have the ore from below Damage to seabeds “as a consequence of min- cate mineral nearly as hard as diamond, transported through tubes up to waiting ships ing activities is practically unavoidable,” ac- which is currently extracted from beaches or floating platforms. He can also imagine us- cording to a study conducted by the University in Australia and South Africa, is also present ing drilling robots that “can collect manganese of Hanover. That’s because mining machines in large quantities in ore crusts. When pro- nodules and extract massive blocks of ore rumple, crush, and disturb sediments, and also cessed into zirconium, it can protect pumps, from the seafloor.” thrust particles into the water column. All this agitators, and heat exchangers from corro- Herzig also has ideas for extracting solid also disturbs the ecological balance in the lay- sion. It’s also used in hot cathodes and as a deep-sea crusts. His “Moving Miner” concept ers of water above. “It stirs up a huge amount cladding for nuclear fuel rods. involves ships that would travel from one de- of silt,” says Herzig. It takes years for life to re- posit to another with their systems, bores, turn to damaged areas, but after that it’s back to A QUESTION OF CALCULATION dredges, and storage units. “A fleet like that normal. “Still, that doesn’t mean there should BGR researchers believe that up to one bil- would cost around €300 million,” he says, be carte blanche approval for mining opera- lion tons of manganese nodules are located “while a similar type of land setup can run up tions,” Wiedicke-Hombach points out. in the area under license in the Pacific. The to a billion euros.” That’s because there is no As early as 1975, a German partnership value of the metal deposits depends on daily need for tunnels, shafts, and access roads in the consisting of the BGR, Preussag, the Metall- prices. “We’d need to remove around 20 oceans. While extracting ore crusts in the deep gesellschaft conglomerate, and Salzgitter AG percent of the surface area for the invest- is costly, it’s also less damaging to the environ- began studying the Pacific Ocean floor to- ment to pay off,” says Wiedicke-Hombach. ment than collecting manganese nodules be- gether with companies from Canada, the U.S., Japan, Australia, and China are testing cause removing volcanic rock doesn’t leave and Japan. Metal prices fell following the en- prototypes for mining manganese nodules, clouds of silt behind. Nevertheless, it takes cen- ergy crisis, however, and many companies, in- including remote controlled mining dredges, turies for an economically useful amount of cluding the German firms, gave up in despair, continuously operating chains of giant pails, ore to accumulate anew. The fact that deep- ultimately losing more than half a billion dol- and air and water pumps. Environmental sea mineral resources aren’t really renewable lars in research costs. damage remains the big drawback, and fur- hasn’t stopped anyone from trying to locate >

18_Evonik_01-08_EN 18 21.02.2008 12:48:31 Uhr Extracted from the sea by an expedition 30 years ago: Giant manga-

nese crust BGR (2) PHOTOGRAPHY: In search of new mining technology

Depth in meters Crusts rich in cobalt 0 200 1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Like manganese nodules, crusts rich in cobalt are formed through marine precipitation, but the crusts remain firmly linked to the seabed rock. Their thickness ranges from one to ten centimeters. The largest deposits, located at depths of between 800 and 2,500 meters, contain up to one percent cobalt. By comparison, continental cobalt deposits contain a max- imum of 0.2 percent cobalt. Other valuable substances (especially for steel production) include titanium (for hardening), cerium (stabilizing), nickel (finishing), and zirconium (anti- corrosion). Determining deposit volume and content requires expensive drilling and digging in massive bedrock at great depths.

Manganese crusts

19_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs1:19 20.02.2008 16:53:38 Uhr Burning ice: If the temperature rises and pressure falls, methane gas escapes from its icy cage and begins

PHOTOGRAPHY: IFM-GEOMAR, KIEL PHOTOGRAPHY: to burn Global competition for deep-sea mining rights

Depth in meters Methane hydrates 0 200 1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Methane hydrates can be found on seabeds at depths below 400 meters, as well as in continental permafrost regions, which also are home to small organisms. These water- methane compounds were formed over millions of years through decomposition of organic material at low temperatures or under high pressure. One cubic meter of solid hydrate expands into 164 cubic meters of gas when heated and depressurized. Permafrost

20_Evonik_01-08_EN 20 21.02.2008 12:48:49 Uhr EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 DEEP SEA SHAPING 21

Guardians of the Deep Based in Kingston, Jamaica, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) monitors all deep-sea activities of governments, corporations, and scientific institutes — in addition to setting environmental standards for the biosphere. Applicants who would like to conduct research on the ocean floor must pay a license fee of $250,000 (€170,000 as of December 2007) and submit annual reports. Then they can develop technologies for commercial deep-sea mining — but any new knowledge they gain must be shared with all 155 ISA member nations (as of December 2007). A deep-sea mining code for manganese nodules has been in effect since 2000, and efforts to draw up a code for massive sulfides and ore crusts began in the summer of 2007. “There are still critical issues to be addressed — mainly those involving the division of zones and the fees that need to be paid,” says Satya Nandan, who has been ISA Secretary General since 1996.

> new sources. China is a newcomer here. It temperatures — i.e. in permafrost conditions deposit, thereby pushing it out,” Herzig ex- wasn’t until 2006 that the Chinese Academy or on the sea floor at depths below 400 me- plains. The carbon dioxide would then freeze, of Engineering presented new control tech- ters. It is estimated that there is approxi- stabilizing the seabed. The natural gas thus nology, modules, and glass cables for under- mately 500 trillion cubic meters of burning pushed out could be channeled to the surface water robots. And the Chinese are buying up ice around the world — more than the cur- and collected. “This method is safer and sim- raw material sources. “China is taking a pre- rently known level of natural gas reserves. pler than gas extraction on land,” says Her- ventive approach here,” says Wiedicke-Hom- zig. For the last 12 years, the Sleipner drilling bach. Japan and India are also conducting ex- HOPES AND RISKS platform off the coast of Norway has been us- tensive research, and India’s preparations for “Exploiting the seabed to generate energy ing a similar technique, which will soon be manganese nodule mining off its coast have from sources such as gas hydrates repre- launched in conjunction with the world’s first now reached a very advanced stage. sents a major challenge in safeguarding to- underwater natural gas extraction facility, at The first BGR ship’s crew is expected to morrow’s energy supplies,” says Margrit the Snøhvit Field in the Barents Sea. Here, it leave from Hanover by early 2009 to extract Wetzel, who is responsible for maritime is- took only 24 years to progress from the dis- samples near Hawaii. The BGR paid sues on the German parliament’s Economy covery of the fields at the Norwegian conti- €190,000 for testing rights, which is “like and Technology committee. The problem is nental shelf to the first practice run at a depth a processing fee for the Seabed Authority,” that methane gas hydrates act as a kind of of 300 meters. says Wiedicke-Hombach. “The authority frozen putty that stabilizes the continental And access could soon be gained to the does bookkeeping and external controlling, slopes between the coastal shelves and the seabed under the North Pole, where a Rus- and if we end up mining the nodules, we deep seabed. Removing this stabilizing sub- sian flag made of rust-proof titanium was have to pay royalties.” stance could cause devastating landslides or planted at a depth of 4,200 meters in August The IFM-Geomar institute in Kiel has tsunamis. In addition, methane is a power- 2007. The race to conquer the Arctic and developed and built a new robot known as ful greenhouse gas. Allowed to escape in an capture its treasures has thus begun. Den- “Kiel 6000” that can extract seabed samples uncontrolled manner, it would have a very mark, Canada, Norway, and the U.S. are stak- at a depth of six kilometers. The unit will be- adverse effect on the earth’s climate. ing claims; large energy companies are re- gin searching for “burning ice” off the coast Researchers believe another environ- questing licenses; and everyone is feverishly of Oregon before the year is out. Burning ice mental problem may harbor a solution here: developing mining technology. At the end of (gas hydrates) harbors an enormous amount scientists would like to store the other major May 2008, the five “Arctic superpowers” will

of energy. These frozen water-gas com- greenhouse gas, CO2, in the seabed, in order meet at the invitation of Denmark in Ilulissat, pounds catch fire when removed from the to keep it out of the atmosphere — and then Greenland, to discuss how matters should sea and ignited, whereby the gas burns off extract the energy-rich methane hydrate in progress in the future. The resources in the

and the water flows off. Burning ice is stable exchange, so to speak. “Liquid CO2 could be polar region are coveted by a host of players,

PHOTOGRAPHY: IAN R. MACDONALD PHOTOGRAPHY: only under high pressure and at very low pumped into an area beneath the methane so tough negotiations are expected. <

21_Evonik_01-08_EN 21 21.02.2008 12:49:00 Uhr 22 INFORMING EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Exchange rates Only Strong euro In 2007 the euro soared in value compared to the dollar

1,50

1,45

1,4 2.08 persons lived in the typical German household 1,35 in 2006; in 1991 the figure was 2.27 persons. 1,3 People age 65 and older were the only inhabit-

18.12.2006 2.4.2007 2.7.2007 1.10.2007 GRAPHICS: 4 REDAKTION ants of 23% of the 39.8 million households. SOURCE: FINANZEN.NET SOURCE: GERMAN FEDERAL STATISTICAL OFFICE

Energy Use In 2006 worldwide consumption of energy from primary sources (coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power) increased to the equivalent of 10,878.5 million tons of oil — 2.4 percent more than in 2005. According to the German Energy Agency (dena), 80 percent of the energy used came from fossil fuels. The industrialized countries, with just one sixth of the planet’s population, use half of the energy consumed. Asia’s dynamically developing economies are also among the major energy consumers

22_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs1:22 20.02.2008 18:19:29 Uhr 23

Gross domestic product Economy Giant steps for Germany Cautious consumers Consumer confidence in Germany fluctuated in 2007 Construction Agriculture, forestry and Germany’s gross 4.1% fishing domestic product in 0.9% 2007 was nearly 8 8,5 8,5 8,5 Retail, €2.5 trillion. Adjusted i a c al 7 7,4 7,4 hospitality and F n n e, re for price, that estate rentals 6,7 transport corresponds to an €2,423 and corporate 6 services increase of 2.5 percent 5,7 17.8% billion Consumer confidence providers compared to the 5 4,9 i d x i p i t 4,8 * 4,5 n e n o n s 4,5 Public and previous year. The 4,3 4,4 29.4% 4 private sector increase in 2006 *Prognose service providers Manufacturing on the previous year’s FM MJ AS ND 21.9 % 25.9% result was 2.9 percent 2007 SOURCE: GERMAN FEDERAL STATISTICAL OFFICE SOURCE: GFK

Million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) 0 – 10 Mtoe

11 – 50 Mtoe

51 – 100 Mtoe

101 – 200 Mtoe

201 – 300 Mtoe

301 – 400 Mtoe

401 – 500 Mtoe

501 – 1,000 Mtoe

1,001 – 1,500 Mtoe

1,501 – 2,000 Mtoe

2,000+ Mtoe

No data

Oil equivalent (oe) International unit for the calorific value of various energy carriers (natural gas, coal, nuclear power, hydropower) SOURCE: BP “STATISTICAL REVIEW OF WORLD ENERGY FULL REPORT 2007”, measured in a quantity of crude INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY “KEY WORLD ENERGY STATISTICS 2007” oil (here one million tonnes) 1 Mtoe = 41.9 petajoules or 11.6 terawatt hours

23_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs1:23 20.02.2008 18:19:35 Uhr 24 SHAPING SEPARION EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 A High-Power Trio Andreas Gutsch, Gerhard Hörpel, and Paul Roth invented the new SEPARION ceramic separator — the key component for modern lithium-ion batteries sold on world markets

TEXT KLAUS JOPP Gutsch is a practical man, which is why he lives in a trailer that is located close to his WHENEVER HE HAS THE TIME and workplace. He was sent to manage Li-Tec by the weather allows it, Dr. Andreas Gutsch Evonik Industries AG, after previously serv- spends 15 minutes in the evening sitting on ing as the director of Creavis Technologies a chair in front of his trailer home, where & Innovation in Marl, which is Evonik’s cor- he takes in the view of the lovely country- porate research unit. Gutsch, who had man- side in Saxony. Sometimes he wears a heavy aged some 200 scientists at Creavis, was coat when it’s chilly. This ritual is an impor- happy to accept the challenge of his new ap- tant part of his life — even if it’s not always pointment in rural Saxony, and he describes carried out in the same place. “I really need the experience as an adventure: “We’re one that time,” says Gutsch, the managing di- hundred percent convinced that there are rector of Li-Tec Battery GmbH & Co. KG in great opportunities here, which is why I de- Kamenz, Saxony. “I use it to collect my cided to take on the responsibility of ensur- thoughts, reflect on the events of the day, ing that the German economy can compete and prepare myself for what’s ahead.” in the battery sector with its strong rivals from Asia.” But there was at least one evening in December 2007 when Gutsch was unable to enjoy his contemplative ritual outside his trailer. That happened when he had to travel to Berlin with his colleagues Dr. Gerhard Hörpel from Evonik’s Science to Business Center Nanotronics in Marl and Professor Paul Roth from the University of Duisburg-Essen. They were there as one of the four teams nominated for the German Future Prize — the most important award for technological innovation in Germany,

PHOTOGRAPHY: DEUTSCHER ZUKUNFTSPREIS DEUTSCHER PHOTOGRAPHY: which was presented by German president

Praise from Germany’s president for Paul Roth, Horst Köhler (see Evonik Magazine SVEN DÖRING PHOTOGRAPHY: Andreas Gutsch, and Gerhard Hörpel (from left) 4/2007). > Contemplation in a camping chair: Andreas

24_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:24 21.02.2008 12:57:31 Uhr 25

Gutsch takes a break and relaxes with a beer in front of his trailer home in Kamenz. He’ll soon be moving to an old forester’s house

25_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:25 20.02.2008 17:51:01 Uhr 26 SHAPING SEPARION EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

> The three ended up receiving special mention, with the award itself being captured by a project for a new type of light-emitting diode. They were, however, far from disap- pointed by the fact that their “Mega-Perfor- mance Nano Coating” project failed to take home the award. “The nomination and the award presentation generated huge interest in our development. We couldn’t imagine a better marketing vehicle,” says Hörpel. “In fact, we have to make sure now that all the media attention and the talks with potential customers don’t distract us from our work.” And there’s still plenty of work for them to do before the first hybrid or electric vehicles Creative ideas powered by batteries from Evonik can hit the road. for a global market Unlike Gutsch, Hörpel likes to do his thinking when he’s on the move. So, while worth billions Gutsch is quietly sitting outside in Kamenz,

Contemplation on a bike: Dr. Gerhard Hörpel gets his best ideas while on the move. The bike trips he takes in the Münster region thus keep both his body and his mind in shape. Hörpel is a big believer in good teamwork — and he certainly hit the jackpot with the SEPARION team (photo, right):

26_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:26 21.02.2008 12:57:40 Uhr 27

it’s likely that avid cyclist Hörpel can be energy to cars and power plants, to name need to operate for long periods of time far found riding his bike through the region just two examples. away from electrical sockets. The required around Münster. Sometimes he even uses The market for such applications will be output here is less than two ampere-hours. a high-tech bicycle equipped with a state- worth billions in the future: the experts be- By comparison, an automobile needs more of-the-art energy storage system. lieve it will grow from the current volume than ten ampere-hours. The SEPARION of approximately €1.4 billion to €3.9 billion separator enables such high capacity be- A MARKET WORTH BILLIONS by 2015. Energy storage units are a must cause its ceramic membrane makes even The “Mega-Performance Nano Coating” for both mobile and stationary applications large batteries more reliable, powerful, and project centers around a flexible separator if society is to successfully address the long-lasting — due not least to the mem- that is covered with a porous nano-sized climate problem through the increased brane’s temperature stability. ceramic layer on both sides. The compo- utilization of renewable energy sources. The development work on SEPARION nent’s most important task is to keep the That’s because power from sources like the began more than ten years ago in a com- battery’s cathode and anode separate from sun, wind, and tides does not flow continu- pletely different field. “At that time, we each other in order to prevent a short cir- ously. Instead, it must be stored if it is to be were producing completely ceramic mem- cuit. The separator also needs to be perme- utilized. branes near Enschede in the Netherlands,” able for lithium ions. Extremely thin and Lithium-ion batteries already have a Hörpel recalls. “We used to filter liquid flexible enough to be easily rolled onto a market share of 99 percent in the so-called dung there and then use the water to make spool, this component holds the key to the CCC segment of cell phones, mobile com- coffee in order to show how effective outstanding performance the lithium-ion puters, and camcorders. They’re also in- the filtering process was.” However, the battery needs to deliver in order to provide creasingly being used in power tools that ma terial displayed the typical drawbacks of ceramics, as it was rigid and brittle — and therefore far from ideal for real applications. It was at this point that an invention from Saarland came into the picture. “We met Dr. Bernd Penth at one of the many membrane workshops we attended,” says Hörpel. At the workshop Penth presented a flexible ceramic water-filtration membrane made of stainless steel mesh. Profes- sor Michael Dröscher, who is now head of Innovation Management Chemicals at Degussa, acquired the system technology for Creavis. With the help of expertise from Evonik Degussa GmbH in the area of particle technology (and nano technology in particular), which was further developed together with Professor Paul Roth, a strategy was then pursued to make the original water filter thinner and thinner until it could be used as a flexible foil. It was a long and tedious process — and the fact that it was ultimately successful was due to the tremendous dedication of all those involved. Even as a child, Hörpel shocked many adults with his creative use of the chemical set in his parents’ basement. Gutsch, on the other hand, couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be a locomotive engineer, a pilot, or a farmer (his mother PHOTOGRAPHY: CATRIN MORITZ CATRIN PHOTOGRAPHY: Dr. Andreas Schuch, Dr. Gerhard Hörpel, Rolf Terwonne (seated), Dr. Matthias Pascaly, had grown up on a farm). When he began Dr. Hans- Jürgen Wessely, Dr. Martin Schuster, Dr. Christian Hying, Friedmann Rex (seated), to have trouble with spelling in school, Dr. Volker Hennige (from left to right) his mother told him: “Don’t worry — just >

27_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:27 21.02.2008 12:57:45 Uhr 28 SHAPING SEPARION EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Energy storage in the future

Today Tomorrow Even further in the future Conventional lithium- Systems from Evonik Large lithium-ion batteries serve as ion batteries with 3 Wh signiﬁ cantly increase battery power grid buffers output output

Hybrid cars require Renewable ILE GE batteries with an output of energy OB ORA M ST 1 kWh each 3 Wh + ITY -+ IC *Separion TR LiTec EC 1 *Litharion L E KWh A large number of electric cars run on elec- Use in hybrid vehicles with mixed electric tricity taken motor/combustion engine drive system from the grid, and can also re-channel this LiTec SEPARION and LITHARION energy back The SEPARION ceramic membrane and new into the grid if electrode materials (LITHARION) make it necessary possible to build batteries with signiﬁ cantly 150 Wh higher output of up to 1 kWh

Purely electric V2G (vehicle-to-grid) car STATIONARY AGE ELECTRICITY STOR

LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec Small lithium-ion batter- LiTec LiTec 10 ies already dominate the KWh LiTec A large number LiTec LiTec market for cell phones, LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec of batteries laptops, and camcorders. LiTec 100 - 10.000 KWh are combined Battery output LiTec LiTec LiTec c LiTec to create small is once again LiTec LiTe LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec LiTec Renewable, LiTec power plants increased by a sporadically produced energy factor of ten from the wind, sun, and biomass ILLUSTRATION: REDAKTION 4, SOURCE: EVONIK INDUSTRIES EVONIK 4, SOURCE: REDAKTION ILLUSTRATION: Lithium-ion batteries are used today mostly to power cell phones, laptops, and camcorders. However, technology from Evonik will also make it possible to utilize the power packs in much bigger devices in the future. This will create new opportunities for their application — initially in hybrid and electric vehicles and stationary devices that store energy from the sun and the wind

28_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:28 20.02.2008 17:51:10 Uhr 29

> keep going. One day you’ll have a secretary mented them. This team consisted of Chris- Research (BMBF) and the companies BASF, who’ll do that for you.” Gutsch ended up tian Hying, a membrane manufacturing spe- Bosch, Evonik, Li-Tec, Evonik New Ener- graduating from high school and going cialist at the time and now production gies GmbH, and all the members of the to college in Karlsruhe, where he decided manager for SEPARION; the ceramics spe- German Association of the Automotive to study chemical engineering during a cialist Volker Hennige, who now manages Industry (VDA). time when the environment was beginning the lithium-ion activities of Creavis in The initiative goes by the rather long- to become a major public issue. “After that, China; and Sven Augustin, who had exten- winded name of “Lithium-Ion Batteries for I wanted to remove the financial burden sive experience in market applications for the Mobilization of Renewable Energy for from my parents, so I started my own membranes, and is now the expert for auto- the Future and for Greater Efficiency in business selling photovoltaic systems,” motive battery applications on Evonik’s Exploiting Fossil and Renewable Energy Gutsch says. “I was a little ahead of my Automotive Industry Team. These days, Sources,” and is initially scheduled to run for time here, but business was still good, even a 40-member team led by Hans-Jürgen three years. The industrial companies will back then.” Wessely continues to successfully move contribute €360 million to the project as a forward with the development of lithium consortium, while the ministry will provide PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE technology at Evonik. €60 million. The development of a product like At the beginning of 2006, the battery Evonik Industries is also working with SEPARION requires more than just an specialists continued their success story in the German Research Foundation (DFG) to avid interest in the natural sciences, such Saxony by purchasing Ionity AG — an acqui- support another initiative known as “Func- as that which led Hörpel to study chemistry sition that now enables them to build even tional Materials and Material Analysis of at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. bigger lithium-ion batteries. They then Lithium High-Power Batteries,” a funda- It also necessitates traits such as patience launched Li-Tec Battery GmbH as a new mental research project that involves 12 approaching stubbornness, great persis- partnership, taking advantage of Ionity’s universities and research institutes. tence, and excellent powers of persuasion, existing infrastructure. “This really helped In addition to its own activities in this among others. Gutsch played the role of the us, because we were able to move into a hall area, Evonik has endowed a professorship impatient, unyielding driving force, while with 8,000 square meters of space that al- for Applied Material Science for Energy Hörpel served as his calm counterpart, ready housed an excellent infrastructure, Storage and Conversion at the Westfälische ready to weather every storm. including one of the largest drying rooms Wilhelms-Universität in Münster. The goal This was crucial, as things didn’t always in Europe,” says Gutsch. here is to establish an internationally com- go as planned. For one thing, development Plans call for the previous manual pro- petitive research program for studying the of the water filters into a ceramic separator duction of battery cells in Kamenz to be energy storage potential of large-volume was originally supposed to take only six to switched over to an automated line before lithium-ion batteries. Chemetall and VW eight months — not three years. During this the year is out, and the existing expertise are also sponsoring the professorship. difficult time, the team, which included will also be exploited to the fullest extent. In the meantime, lithium-related activ- Evonik employees and university staff, grew The team is pursuing a two-pronged ities continue at Evonik and Li-Tec. A pas- even closer together. “Even though the three marketing strategy here. On the one hand, senger car in the VW Golf segment needs of us got all the attention in the media with they plan to enter as soon as possible the to have 160 cells from Kamenz to travel a the Future Prize nomination, none of the already established markets for the batter- distance of approximately 150 kilometers successes we achieved would have been ies, such as the segments for electrically at a speed of 130 km/h. The power packs possible without the entire outstanding operated bikes, scooters, boats, and jet that contain such cells can also store the SEPARION team,” says Hörpel. skis, as well as industrial applications such fluctuating current from solar and wind The SEPARION project was launched as electric forklifts, lawnmowers, and facilities (see box), thereby significantly several years ago in the Screening Commit- cleaning machines. On the other, the team increasing the efficiency and value of these tee, which was the precursor of Creavis. The has already established partnerships to renewable energy sources. committee consisted of a small group of serve the markets of tomorrow, whereby The three researchers get their own creative and visionary people led by Profes- the focus here is on automotive applica- energy for tackling the major challenges in sor Michael Dröscher, head of Innovation tions. Their goals are ambitious, as they their project from the same source — their Management Chemicals. are looking to produce their 100,000th cell families, which is why Gutsch will soon be The team initially identified the oppor- before the end of this year. ending his trailer-living phase and moving tunities associated with membranes at a into an old forester’s house. This will enable time when using lithium-ion batteries for INTENSIVE RESEARCH his sons to at least visit him on weekends. automobiles wasn’t even a realistic consid- The intense interest of various industries The boys like to build model airplanes and eration. A “membrane team” under Gerhard in the batteries is illustrated by a research ships, which could also be run on lithium- Hörpel tested the feasibility of the amazing and development initiative launched by ion batteries. These batteries have a bright ideas the group generated, and then imple- the German Ministry of Education and future ahead of them at Evonik. <

29_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:29 21.02.2008 12:57:57 Uhr 30 BUILDING CLIMATE-FRIENDLY LIVING EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Climate Protection = Cost Savings Evonik uses intelligent concepts for sustainable climate protection, creating solutions that really pay off

TEXT CATRIN KRAWINKEL Nitrogen oxide is released every day by catalyst. This means the roofing tiles, which industrial plants and automobiles; when are similar in appearance to conventional THERE ARE NO LIMITS to the imag- exposed to sunlight, it converts into toxic tiles and installed in exactly the same man- ination when it comes to modern living: ozone. If the gas comes into contact with ner, can help to improve air quality and innovative ideas include heating buildings titanium dioxide in daylight, however, it reduce ozone concentrations in urban areas. with energy from the depths of the earth, rapidly turns into harmless nitrate molecules, improving air quality with concrete roof- which flow to the ground in rainwater and SUPER TILES ing tiles, and converting solar energy seep into the earth as neutral salts. Here they A similar project in Italy, which was spon- into electricity. The Real Estate Business serve as plant nutrients or find their way sored by the EU, demonstrated that concrete Area of Evonik Industries AG consistently into sewage systems, to be eventually containing titanium dioxide can break down implements a full array of technological filtered out at water treatment facilities. as much as 90 percent of the nitrogen oxides innovations that reduce pollutant emissions Because it isn’t consumed when trans- that make contact with it when the sun is shin- and lower utility costs. forming nitrogen oxides, titanium dioxide ing, and up to 70 percent when the sky is over- The most recent example of the compa- can be used an unlimited number of times as a cast. Reiner Kathenbach, head of Technology ny’s activities here is offered by “the world’s first industrially manufactured, ecologically Pilot project: A total of 3,000 square meters of new rooﬁ ng being installed in Duisburg active roofing tiles.” Evonik used the tiles to cover 3,000 square meters of roof space on eight multi-family buildings in Duisburg, a unique pilot project in Germany. These tiles, which do much more than just protect houses from rain and snow, were produced by the company Nelskamp using a new material developed by the HeidelbergCement Group: a micro-cement containing titanium-dioxide crystals. This non-toxic material was discovered in Norway and the U.S. in 1908. Al- though it is 2,500 times thinner than a human hair, the material layer used in the roofing tiles is so powerful that, in combination with sunlight, it can transform pollutants such as

nitrogen oxides into harmless substances. INDUSTRIES (2); GRAPHIC: EVONIK 4 REDAKTION PHOTOGRAPHY:

30_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:30 20.02.2008 17:58:24 Uhr How modern roofing tiles function 31

The roofi ng tiles are UV radiation made of micro- concrete that contains titanium oxide crystals. NOx When exposed to sunlight, the crystals Rain transform nitrogen NOx NOx oxides into nitrate molecules. The Titanium dioxide molecules fl ow down TiO2 - in rainwater and in micro-concrete NO3 neutralizes Titanium seep into the earth as dioxide - neutral salts, or else pollutants in the NO3 fi nd their way into atmosphere - NO3 sewage systems, where they are fi ltered out at water treatment plants. ClimaLife roofi ng tile surface

SOURCE: NELSKAMP

and Residential Management at Evonik Woh- their facades are sealed with a heat-insulating environmental and climate protection stan- nen GmbH, is delighted with the new roof- composite, as specified by the stringent reg- dards. At present, for example, the company ing tiles: “We renovate an average of 150 to ulations of Germany’s Reconstruction Loan is building the Sonnensiedlung (“Sunny 160 buildings each year. Any building with a Corporation (KfW). The primary energy Community”) residential complex in the steep roof can be fitted with the innovative consumption of the modernized buildings is city of Moers. The complex will consist of tiles, and when we install them, we’re mak- nearly the same as that of a comparable new 60 homes, whose heating requirements will ing a significant contribution to environ- house, so heating costs are cut sharply. The be met in part by geothermal sources, with

mental protection.” In fact, 200 square me- renovation measures also lower annual CO2 hot water to be supplied by solar energy. ters of roof surface equipped with the tiles can emissions by at least 40 kilograms per square Other buildings will be equipped with pho- eliminate the equivalent of the exhaust emis- meter (see Evonik Magazine 4/2007). tovoltaic units, and the direct current they sions generated by a 2,000-kilometer car trip. generate will be fed into the local AC grid Buildings thus modernized are given new SUNNY DEVELOPMENTS via an inverter. heat-insulating windows as well. Their room It goes without saying that all buildings built Once the geothermal source has been and basement ceilings are also insulated, and by the company also comply with the latest tapped, it will be channeled into households with the help of a heat pump, making energy The Sonnensiedlung in Moers is equipped with state-of-the art environmental technology available at all times from an extremely reliable source. Installation of the needed equipment will cost approximately €10,000 per household, an investment that will pay off because the heat supplied by the units will reduce energy costs by more than two- thirds compared to conventional setups. “Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act not only provides new homeowners with guaranteed payments for energy they feed into the grid; the complete environmental technology used is also eligible for KfW loans,” says Kathenbach. Another benefit for homes equipped with such technology is that they require no chimneys, oil tanks, or gas hookups — in addition to producing no emissions. <

31_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:31 20.02.2008 17:58:28 Uhr 32 EXPERIENCING RUHRFESTSPIELE EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 A Taste of Hollywood With Kevin Spacey once again the star of the Ruhrfestspiele and Peter Zadek also joining in, Frank Hoffmann

TEXT ULRICH SCHMIDT

TWO YEARS AGO, in a bold departure from tradition, one of Europe’s most renowned theaters was invited to stage the opening event of the 2006 Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen in its mother tongue. Fea- turing an Oscar-winning actor in the lead role, it promised to be an evening full of glamour and quality drama. Would it work? It did: the audience was ecstatic. Kevin Spacey delivered a tour de force as Shake- speare’s Richard II in the Trevor Nunn production from London’s Old Vic Theatre, where Spacey is also the artistic director. This year, thanks to the efforts of principal festival sponsor Evonik Industries AG, Spacey is making a much-heralded return to Recklinghausen (May 1 to June 15, 2008) with a play by the name of Speed the Plow. “We’re very proud to be principal sponsor of the Ruhrfestspiele,” explains Inken Os- termann, responsible for sponsoring at Evonik. “Over the years, the festival has developed into a real magnet for theater lovers from all over the world and for some of the very best performers as well.” Spacey’s stage partner in the new production will be Jeff Goldblum. The play was written by David Mamet, a contemporary

U.S. playwright who has also created success- ELLIS PARINDER PHOTOGRAPHY: ful screenplays for Hollywood, the setting of > Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum, appearing in Speed the Plow at this year’s Ruhrfestspiele

32_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:32 20.02.2008 18:04:11 Uhr 33

and his team have created a festival program that puts the dream back into America

Frank Hoffmann (center) together with actor Herbert Knaup (left) and Hasko Weber, director of the Stuttgart

Compagnie DCA–Philippe Decouﬂ é presents the dance theater production Sombrero PHOTOGRAPHY: DPA/BERND THISSEN DPA/BERND PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHY: P. LAUREN P. PHOTOGRAPHY:

33_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:33 20.02.2008 18:04:14 Uhr 34 EXPERIENCING RUHRFESTSPIELE EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Straddling two continents PHOTOGRAPHY: ARNO DECLAIR PHOTOGRAPHY:

Judith Rosmair stars in Frank Hoffmann’s production of A Moon for the Misbegotten

Josef Bierbichler in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams PHOTOGRAPHY: MANU THEOBALD PHOTOGRAPHY:

34_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:34 25.02.2008 13:24:22 Uhr 35

> the Recklinghausen production. In Speed the Dance has always played a major role at the Plow, secretary Karen hands her boss, the Ruhrfestspiele. This year, Compagnie Senti- Hollywood producer Bobby Gould (Kevin mental Bourreau is performing a piece based Spacey), a script of undeniable artistic merit on the novel Sweet Thursday by John Stein- but minimal box office appeal. Meanwhile, beck. As so often, Steinbeck examines the old friend Charlie Fox (Jeff Goldblum) calls dark side of the American dream with its by with a screenplay as banal as they come but emphasis on achievement and prosperity. with a major star already signed up. Bobby Counterpointing this colorful mix of dance, faces a choice between art and commerce. music, and drama, which is produced in asso- Two years ago, Kevin Spacey paid Reck- ciation with the Festival d’Avignon, is a show linghausen theatergoers a huge compliment presented by Pockemon Crew Compagnie, when he praised the festival’s unique atmo- currently one the most innovative groups in sphere. And this memory has prompted him international breakdance, which has risen to return. What’s more, Australia’s Holly- literally from the basement of the Lyon Op- wood star Cate Blanchett also got wind of era to become a set feature of that renowned his glowing report and has opted to bring stage. Similarly international is the now well- her directorial debut — David Harrower’s established Fringe Festival, which this year Coming to the Ruhrfestspiele: Blackbird, which deals with the sensitive features 16 productions from seven differ- Harald Schmidt in Elvis lebt. subject of child abuse — along with the Syd- ent countries in a variety of venues, both Und Schmidt kann es beweisen ney Theatre Company to the Ruhrgebiet. indoor and outdoor, right across downtown Recklinghausen. REVERIE AND REALITY Meanwhile, in a major treat for theater “Once upon a Time in America: A Dream buffs, the controversial director Peter Zadek of Theater” is the motto chosen by Frank is making a surprise return with a production Hoffmann for the 2008 season. The direc- of Luigi Pirandello’s Vestire gli ignudi (To tor of the Ruhrfestspiele is aiming to explore Clothe the Naked). In the wake of the prob- the contrast between reality and reverie, as lems attending his production of Twelfth dramatized, for example, in his production Night in Vienna, not much had been heard of Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbe- from Zadek, who has been a frequent guest gotten, a story involving an explosive com- director in Recklinghausen in the past. His lat- bination of love and booze. Hoffmann’s lead- est production keeps faith with the festival’s ing lady is Judith Rosmair, Germany’s motto and examines the dream harbored by Actress of the Year 2007. the nursemaid Ersilia to have her own failed Between these two poles — on the one and “naked” existence clothed in art by the hand, the American theater of the 1940s, writer Nota. As ever, nothing is quite as it which was still heavily influenced by Eu- seems. Festival-goers can look forward to see- rope; on the other, its contemporary absorp- ing how Zadek, a director who is not known tion of Hollywood themes in the Mamet pro- for pulling his punches, deals with this play of duction — come works from writers such as shifting identities. < Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Sam Further information is available at: Shepard. In this way, Hoffmann also aims to www.ruhrfestspiele.de show how in a mere 100 years America has managed to forge a theater that is every bit a match for the older European tradition. Ironic takes on America’s image can be expected from Jérôme Savary, who is putting on Happy End by Dorothy Lane, Kurt Weill, and Bertolt Brecht, and from Sombrero, a dance theater production brought to Reck- linghausen by Compagnie DCA–Philippe Decouflé. Sombrero takes the audience on a

lighthearted journey through a world of light RUHRFESTSPIELE PHOTOGRAPHY: and shadow in search of an ironic Mexican- The place for world-class theater:

PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID GRAETER DAVID PHOTOGRAPHY: inspired angle on the festival’s motto. The Ruhrfestspielhaus in Recklinghausen

35_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:35 20.02.2008 18:04:20 Uhr 36 INFORMING EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Hannover Messe Innovations from Evonik

From April 21–25, 2008, Evonik Industries AG will be staging an impressive presentation at the world’s biggest industrial trade show — the Hannover Messe. The fair is also the world’s most important platform for technical innovations, and the creative industrial group based in Essen will be presenting innovations from its Chemicals, Energy, and Real Estate business areas to visitors from all over the world, at a stand measuring approximately 800 square meters. Highlights are to include new state-of-the-art systems for resource conservation and energy efficiency — ranging from environmentally focused building modernization techniques to high-tech systems for geothermal energy generation and coal power plants — and advanced applications for chemicals in the automotive industry, in-

PHOTOGRAPHY: EVONIK INDUSTRIES EVONIK PHOTOGRAPHY: cluding new lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles.

Berlin and Brussels Wilhelm Schmidt Is New Director of the Public Affairs Department The Public Affairs department at Evonik Industries Evonik Executive Board Chairman Dr. Werner Müller AG has a new director. Following the retirement of spoke to members of parliament (including Bundes- Dr. Wilfried Czernie, 67, Wilhelm Schmidt took tag President Dr. Norbert Lammert), federal minis- over the department at the beginning of 2008. ters, and business officials. Dr. Müller thanked those Schmidt, 63, also now serves as the authorized rep- who supported the restructuring of RAG to create European Parliament member Jo Leinen talks resentative of the Executive Board and managing di- Evonik and the establishment of the RAG-Stiftung. In with Executive Board member Klaus Engel rector of the Group’s offices in Berlin and Brussels. Brussels, Evonik Executive Board member Dr. Klaus Markus Schulz is now director of the Evonik Indus- Engel presented a review of the company’s first 150 tries office in Berlin, while Karlheinz Maldaner holds days to members of the European Parliament and the the same position in Brussels. Wilhelm Schmidt European Commission, as well as representatives of brings to his new position extensive political experi- various business associations. ence, having served for many years as a member of During his speech, and in subsequent discus- Parliament (Bundestag) for the German Social Dem- sions, Engel also spoke about the company’s critical ocratic Party (SPD) and as the party’s chief whip. view of the EU’s REACH directive for chemical sub- Over the last few weeks, Evonik Industries has stances and the European emission certificate trading been present in both Berlin and Brussels to introduce system. Jo Leinen, a member of the European Parlia- the new Group and explain its goals. Political officials ment and chairman of its Committee on Constitu- and members of parliament in both cities have ex- tional Affairs, was also on hand as a guest speaker at pressed great interest in the new company. In Berlin, the event.

Wilhelm Karlheinz Markus Schmidt Maldaner Schulz is now is the new now heads head of the director of the Group Group ofﬁ ce the Public ofﬁ ce in in Berlin Affairs Brussels department PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURENCE CHAPERON/LASA (5) LAURENCE CHAPERON/LASA PHOTOGRAPHY: Bundestag President Dr. Norbert Lammert speaking with Dr. Werner Müller

36_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs1:36 25.02.2008 13:35:47 Uhr 37

GUEST COLUMN Russia’s Negative Image in the German Media

TEXT RICHARD KIESSLER It’s not surprising that German business representatives in Russia (there are 4,500 German companies No other country in the world, with exception of the active in the country, including 4,300 small and me- U.S., gets as much emotionalized media exposure in dium-sized firms) criticize the fact that Russia’s me- Germany as does Russia. That’s not surprising, given dia image doesn’t correspond to reality there. Many that Russia is a permanent member of the UN Secu- things have changed for the better, for example, and rity Council, a nuclear power, and a major supplier of the standard of living has also improved. More than gas and oil — not to mention one of Germany’s neigh- anything else, Russians don’t want to be told what to bors in Europe. At the same time, everything that do. It’s important to keep in mind Russia’s authoritar- happens in Russia is usually attributed to President ian history and the fact that things were much worse Vladimir Putin, so the outgoing president has become and chaotic under Yeltsin than in the recent era of rel- the main target of criticism of Russia. ative stability under Putin. The German media, how- A study conducted by dimap-communications on ever, prefers to focus on sensational negative topics behalf of the WAZ Media Group examined the fol- like the Russian mafia, prostitution, corruption, na- lowing six “communication events” involving Russia tionalism, and Chechnya. It also tends to overesti- over the last 12 months: the murders of journalist mate the support enjoyed by groups opposed to Pu- Anna Politkovskaya and former KGB agent Alexander tin, such as the one led by Garri Kasparov. Litvinenko, the 2007 Munich Conference on Secu- The following is a good example of how the Ger- rity Policy and Putin’s controversial speech at that man media covers Russia and Putin: the Russian event, the EU-Russia Summit in Finland, the award- president and the Patriach of Russia, Alexy II, re- ing of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games to Sochi, cently presided over a ceremony honoring victims of and Russia’s parliamentary elections and upcoming Stalinist terror, in which Putin gave a clearly anti- presidential election. Stalinist speech. This speech was ignored by the me- PHOTOGRAPHY: PICTURE-ALLIANCE/DPA PHOTOGRAPHY: Nearly all articles published about these subjects Patriarch Alexy II and Vladimir Putin: An anti- dia, which instead often implies that Putin is seeking mentioned “Putin” by name. Particularly revealing Stalin speech a re-Stalinization of Russian society. Yet the only pos- was a trend noticed in reports on Politkovskaya’s sible basis they have for this charge is that Putin has, murder, whereby the crime was used to attack the strength and unity to the outside world, while con- in the past, praised Stalin’s leadership during the Sec- Russian political system in general, with issues such cealing all weaknesses. Whenever bad news comes ond World War. as “crime fighting” and “freedom of speech and out of Russia, it’s invariably attributed to the sup- Despite all this, it’s also true that Russian officials press” mentioned much less often. The murder of posed underdeveloped and chaotic nature of the fail to address the needs of foreign media representa- Politkovskaya (who actually took money for the in- country, accompanied by references to the inability tives. It often takes days or even weeks to obtain a formation she gave to foreign journalists) was thus of non-Russians to understand any of it. statement from a Russian ministry on a particular is- used as an excuse to settle accounts with the Russian It’s also interesting to note that a remarkable two sue. So Russian government officials shouldn’t be political system in general and with Putin in particu- thirds of the approximately 200 German correspon- surprised when their views don’t make it into news lar. Putin has become a symbol for everything that is dents accredited in Moscow base their assessments reports abroad. Basically, Russian politicians are bad wrong in Russia. Indeed, Politkovskaya’s death of the Russian political system on non-Russian public relations managers. launched a phase of very critical reporting on Russia sources, including German and other foreign politi- In the meantime, German business representa- in line with the formula: Russia = Putin = bad (or cians and representatives of international organiza- tives have the good stories most journalists seem so getting worse). tions. Moreover, less than one percent of such as- uninterested in. This disinterest is perhaps due to the It is interesting to note that correspondents in sessments are based on statements made by German fact that reporters like to avoid the appearance of be- Russia and editors in Germany have differing opin- business representatives — a fact that they find very ing PR mouthpieces for major corporations. Still, ions of Russia. Although all seem to agree that gen- discouraging. such business officials would certainly find an atten- eral political developments in Russia reflect that We in the media should therefore focus on more tive audience if they were prepared to speak openly country’s authoritarian structures, editors in Ger- than just raw materials when reporting on the Rus- about both their successes and difficulties in Russia. many tend to view Putin as a stabilizing factor, while sian economy, as such a narrow view tends to rein- correspondents think he’s destabilizing the country. force stereotypes of Russia. That’s because a head- Of course, many of these negative opinions are line containing the word “gas” invariably also The author is editor-in-chief of the WAZ Media Group (Essen) and expressions of anti-Russian or even anti-Soviet bi- contains the names “Putin,” “Medvedev,” or special foreign affairs correspon- ases. But secrecy is a part of Russian political culture, “Schröder.” There is much more to say — both good dent. This article is based on a which traditionally seeks to project a picture of and bad — about the Russian economy, however. speech Kiessler gave in Moscow to the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade

37_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs1:37 20.02.2008 18:25:23 Uhr 38 EXPERIENCING AMERICA EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 “Where Blessed Hands Do Highways, monuments, and major cities: a 2,000-kilometer journey from the North to the South of

38_Evonik_04-07_EN 38 21.02.2008 10:50:22 Uhr 39 Divine Work” the U.S. and to three major production plants of Evonik Industries

Derrick Freeman, a barber in Hopewell

39_Evonik_04-07_EN 39 21.02.2008 10:50:26 Uhr s is New s Lafayette s Harrisburgg i s PiP ttsburgh Trenttton oi Municen Ohio M in QuincQ ncyIll PhiladeP lphia

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Pensacola Tallahassee JaJaacksonville w OrOrleansO Golf von Mexikko Floridda Gainosvvillllle MAPS: IPUBLISH, PICFOUR

TEXT TOM SCHIMMECK Edison, Presidents Grover Cleveland and A fascinating PHOTOGRAPHY JOHANNES KRÖMER Woodrow Wilson, the poet Walt Whitman, and even the football coach Vince Lombardi. journey into IT’S 9:30 A.M. ON A MONDAY IN NEW YORK, I stop at the Molly Pitcher Service Area in and the morning rush-hour traffic is head- Middlesex County, which is named after the hospitable ing toward gridlock. The bridges are jammed Molly Pitcher, who carried well water pitcher and the traffic in the tunnels is barely mov- by pitcher to slake the thirst of the soldiers ing. In an effort to get away from the high- and cool the overheated cannons at the Bat- south rise canyons of Manhattan, I inch my way tle of Monmouth in 1778. After her husband through the Holland Tunnel under the Hud- was wounded, she took over his position as son River on my way to New Jersey. This an artillery gunner. state has the reputation of being a huge sub- urb, the “bedroom” of the “BosWash mega- PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY, 8 A.M. “I was lopolis” made up of Boston, New York City, bruised and battered,” sings Bruce Springs- Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, teen, one of many musicians from New D.C. But in fact, New Jersey has a lot more to Jersey, in his hit song “Streets of Philadel- offer. It has the second-largest proportion of phia.” “Oh brother, are you gonna leave me both Jews and Muslims in the United States. / Wastin’ away / On the streets of Philadel- It also has many Asians, Italians, and Native phia?” Today, the streets of “Philly,” as it’s Americans, who have been living here quite known to its inhabitants, don’t seem at all a bit longer than all of these immigrant desolate; they’re busy and friendly. After all, groups — for more than 2,800 years. The the city’s name, derived from Greek, means first Europeans — from Sweden and the “City of Brotherly Love.” Netherlands — didn’t come to New Jersey until the early 17th century. Later on, it was INTERSTATE 95, 11:30 A.M. Between the one of the focal points of the Revolutionary tiny state of Delaware and the city of Balti- War, with tiny Morristown serving twice as more in northeastern Maryland, Interstate General Washington’s headquarters. 95 becomes the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway for 50 miles. Kennedy inaugurated NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE, 2 P.M. The service this stretch of the highway eight days before areas along the turnpike are named after his- he was assassinated in November 1963. torical figures, such as the inventor Thomas More than 30 million vehicles a year race

40_Evonik_01-08_EN 40 20.02.2008 18:55:14 Uhr EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 AMERICA EXPERIENCING 41

City Point belongs to a former plantation. Hopewell’s Broadway is rather uninspiring — but later on you can buy cucumbers at the side of the road

along this highway, which is eight lanes wide River, I turn right onto the Downtown Ex- The barber, who comes from New York City, at some points and is due to become even pressway so I can take a short look at the set- explains: “A woman lured me here, and then wider. The tangle of highways around Wash- ting of these novels. As I drive through, the she left me.” One of his daughters still lives ington, D.C., is not far away. I’m already on real Richmond looks a lot more harmless than in New York, but his other four children are the Capital Beltway that circles the city and in the books. It’s full of trees and gardens, as scattered far and wide, he reports while the radio is warning drivers of massive con- befits a state capital. I drive on. giving a difficult shave to a customer who is gestion up ahead, so I decide to make a short sitting extremely still. Hopewell is “okay,” detour into the center of town. HOPEWELL, WEDNESDAY, 11:30 A.M. To- reports Freeman as he folds up his straight day’s Virginian Pilot includes a moving re- razor. “Business is a bit slow, but it’s all WASHINGTON, D.C., 1:30 P.M. The sun is port about the closure of the Ford factory in right.” He looks like a man who would do shining. One thing TV viewers seldom see is Norfolk, which is located to the southeast well wherever he lived. the huge contrasts that characterize this city along the Atlantic coast. A total of 7,983,458 A few blocks to the northeast is City Point, as well. Just a few blocks from the center of vehicles were produced here, with heavy- where the James River and the Appomattox global power, life can be very rough — or very duty F-150 pickups rolling off the assembly River meet. This is the historic site where pleasant. The vibrant Adams Morgan neigh- line. This was a popular model, but it was too General Ulysses S. Grant set up his headquar- borhood, which lies north of the city center massive for modern taste and rising gas ters in the summer of 1864, eight miles between Georgia Avenue and Rock Creek prices. According to the reporter, one for- behind the front lines of his army, which was Park, looks much less planned than the rest mer employee yelled, “This is a proud day besieging nearby Petersburg. Overnight, this of this drawing-board city. The streets are for Toyota!” Hopewell is a small town of sleepy village became a key supply point in narrow, almost European, with colorful fa- brick houses. A quaint barbershop on the the war. A long pier, railroad lines, and gigan- çades and interesting shops, cafés, and bars. narrow street called East Broadway catches tic warehouses were built. Hundreds of ships I quickly leave Washington behind to look my interest. The owner, Derrick Freeman, docked in this small harbor every day. The for the less well-known parts of America. 45, is a heavyset African-American with a town is full of historical monuments and Civil beard, a bald head, and a necklace in the War museums. In one museum shop I find a INTERSTATE 95, 6 P.M. The South begins just form of a heavy gold chain with a key. This counter full of sugar candy for children that is behind the Capital Beltway, in Virginia, where is the key to “the heavenly kingdom,” he ex- shaped like gunpowder and cannonballs people still chew tobacco. Richmond, the plains. In the U.S. such an attitude is not un- state capital, is known to many readers of de- usual; in fact, on his business cards the “mas- Of deodorants, ink, and cleansers tective fiction as the home of Chief Medical ter barber” promises “heavenly haircuts.” Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a blonde Italian- The line beneath it reads: “Where blessed All Evonik products are regularly monitored American forensic physician who is also an hands do divine work.” Americans are not in the testing laboratories in Hopewell. excellent cook. Just before I reach the James known for their false modesty. Dressed in a white lab coat and wearing >

41_Evonik_01-08_EN 41 20.02.2008 18:55:21 Uhr 42 EXPERIENCING AMERICA EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

“Everyone here is involved with surfaces in one form or another”

> protective goggles and latex gloves, Angela shampoos and shower gels. In addition, Paez energetically brushes the long hair of polyurethane foams can be found in cars, a wig fastened to the head of a plastic doll. construction sites, and even your own bed. Paez is conducting a scientific test on a new North America is a very important mar- conditioner in a lab in Hopewell, Virginia, ket for Evonik, which operates 33 manufac- that contains rows of white cabinets and turing facilities, distribution centers, labs, many worktables filled with tubes, bottles, and warehouses in North America with a flasks, and various types of equipment. workforce of about 3,500, or around 13 per- Several other plastic heads wearing wigs are cent of the Chemicals Business Area’s total sitting on top of a refrigerator and awaiting workforce. their turn with the conditioner, while a The North American region in 2006 variety of emulsions for metal processing generated €2.9 billion in revenues, which are being tested at another table. A lab tech- corresponds to 20% of sales for Evonik’s nician is boring holes in large blocks of iron Chemicals Business Area. In North America, to test the quality of a lubricant. A nearby the business area manufactures basic mate- shelf is filled with several bottles of standard rials for paints, fertilizers, hand creams, dia- fabric softeners, and a row of control strips pers, glue, contact lenses, cars, mattresses, is hanging on the wall. furniture, and thousands of other items. The Hopewell, in eastern Virginia, has been organization’s base is in Parsippany, New home to production facilities of Evonik Jersey — not far from New York City. Industries AG and its predecessor companies since 1980. Today, the Group employs 230 NEAR PETERSBURG, 2 P.M. The South can employees in four lines of business. “Every- be rough, but it’s got a charming smile. The one here is involved in a variety of products light and the wide horizon tighten their hold used by millions of people all over the world, on you and pull you forward, always want- ranging from deodorants to ink to cleansing ing to drive just a few miles more. I check my agents,” says site manager Philip Munson. route once again at the interchange near Indeed, it’s amazing to see all the different Petersburg. In spite of all kinds of exceptions, applications of chemicals. Cocamidopropyl the US highway system is quite simple: the betaine, for instance, is an amphoric surfac- odd-numbered roads run north-south, and tant that is used as a secondary surfactant the even-numbered ones run east-west. The Angela Paez tests a new conditioner in a wide range of applications, including numbers increase as they go toward the >

42_Evonik_01-08_EN 42 20.02.2008 18:55:24 Uhr 43

43_Evonik_01-08_EN 43 20.02.2008 18:55:27 Uhr 44 EXPERIENCING AMERICA EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

The American way of life: VW buggy fans get together in Herbies’ Place, the Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball team, and a monument to the “Greensboro

> north or the east. Numbers divisible by five “much more peaceful.” Later on, I read a lo- The city of indicate the major highways. cal newspaper with the lovely name of The I have to leave Interstate 95, the East Rhinoceros Times. Greensboro is Coast highway that connects Miami and Greensboro is a down-to-earth kind of Canada. Google Maps recommends that I place, home to about 250,000 people who “quite a mix” bear right and continue driving in a south- work in the mechanical engineering, elec- westerly direction on the I-85 for the next tronics, and chemicals sectors, at a cigarette 1,076 kilometers. The countryside becomes factory, and in the remains of the area’s tex- more and more open, and the sky seems tile industry. The local restaurants have to be higher. As soon as you leave the main names like Ruth’s Chris Steak House, road, you drive through sprawling towns Stamey’s Barbecue, and Laddie & Duke’s with broad lawns and front yards that are Family Grille. For five years now, there’s not fenced in. There are lots of churches, been a huge statue on the campus of the which is why the Southeast, the region State University of four upstanding young between Virginia and Texas, is known as men, the “Greensboro Four.” On February the “Bible Belt.” On the banks of a small 1, 1960, four black college boys — David lake, a grandfather stands fishing with his Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, and grandchildren. Joseph McNeil — entered a Woolworth’s in the center of town and sat down at the lunch GREENSBORO, THURSDAY, 10 A.M. I arrive counter. It was a small revolution, because in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the early at that time black people were only allowed evening. The booth of the parking garage is to eat standing up at a separate counter. The manned by an odd-looking character with four young men’s sit-in launched a decade rings on every finger, plus bracelets. He of protest against racial segregation in the takes his pipe out of his mouth, introduces United States. himself as Avory Simmons, 60 years old, and The road leading out of town boasts an gives me a quick overview of his city. endless row of car dealerships. I’ve become Greensboro is “quite a mix,” he says, as it’s curious because of the newspaper article both an industrial center and a college town. about the closure of the Ford plant in Virginia, “That makes things more colorful,” he adds so I pull up to Green Ford. I’m approached by with a grin. He used to live in the state capi- one of the dealership’s 20 salesmen, a solidly tal, but he’s happy to be back here, where it’s built young man named Zach Wyatt. He tells

44_Evonik_01-08_EN 44 20.02.2008 18:55:30 Uhr 45

Four.” John Cranford, 82, remembers the struggle against racial segregation

me that each salesman is expected to sell at age facilities, and four labs. The remaining formulated for high skin compatibility and least eight cars a month. How, I ask him. two plants are run by a company previously performance; and red is for after-work “Well, by talking to you,” Zach grins. “And by owned by Evonik. creams that condition the skin while pro- finding the right car for you.” And how is Everything is highly modern here, which moting regeneration. “The marketplace business, I ask. “Not so bad,” he rumbles eva- is why a 12-person shift team is capable of is highly competitive, offering products of sively, but he soon admits that Ford is going keeping two large production units running. diverse quality,” says Lori Huffman, Market- through a “really tough” period. Nissan, Two of these workers sit in each unit’s con- ing Manager for STOKO Skin Care. “The Honda, and Toyota are doing booming busi- trol room, where they literally have every- STOKO brand has a loyal following and a ness in the United States, but Ford, Chrysler, thing under observation and control. Color- superb reputation for delivering high qual- and GM are in a slump. Greensboro, the sales- ful numbers and symbols flash across 13 ity products at competitive prices.” man tells us, still has a lot of “rednecks” who monitors, and there’s also a console that The other products created on site are love heavy-duty vehicles, as well as an in- houses telephones, radio sets, clocks, calcu- used to treat textiles, leather, water, paper, creasing number of Hispanics. On Summit lators, computer keyboards, and “mice,” and cement. The plant’s shining stars are Avenue there’s a new dealership called which the technicians use to operate all of the superabsorbers — complex networked poly- Familia Auto Sales, where business is done in machinery with just a few clicks. mers made of acrylic acid that can store up Spanish. Many types of hand hygiene and skin to 300 times their weight in fluids. The The situation is volatile. Zach, a chunky health products are made in Greensboro, manufacturing facilities for these products 21-year-old, used to be a bouncer employed specifically targeted for the away-from- extend over six floors connected by a huge by a security company. Is there a future for home markets. Under the brand of STOKO freight elevator. The filling section is popu- him in Greensboro? “I was born here,” he Skin Care, this business line offers solutions lated by numerous forklifts that transport says almost apologetically. “My family lives for occupationally stressed skin, from huge sacks containing a superabsorbent end here” — that is, his wife and two children. industrial applications through to hand product known as FAVOR® to a number of The town has a new baseball field, and the hygiene products for healthcare facilities site warehouses. nightlife is pretty good too, says Zach, add- and light institutional applications such as This product is used in an increasing range ing for good measure a short tribute to offices and schools. STOKO was the first to of applications in firefighting, waste disposal, “Southern hospitality.” offer a comprehensive three-point, color- cable protection, and agriculture. The prod- coded program into the workplace. Prod- uct demonstrations that we see resemble In the land of the super-diapers ucts for before work are coded blue and magic shows in which a liter of milk is poured are specifically formulated to protect the into a rolled-up newspaper, for example — Greensboro is a small city in North Carolina, skin against continual exposure to various and nothing leaks out. The lion’s share of rev- where approximately 300 Evonik employees irritants commonly found in the workplace. enue continues to be generated by a product operate four of the site’s six plants, six stor- Green is for cleansing products that are that never goes out of style: diapers — for >

45_Evonik_01-08_EN 45 20.02.2008 18:55:33 Uhr 46 EXPERIENCING AMERICA EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Putting high-tech diapers to the test

> which Evonik is the world market leader, with distribution. Most importantly, however, special labs in Krefeld, Germany, as well as diapers are tested for absorption capacity, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Greensboro. rate of absorbency, and storage capability — The lab technician shows us how the all with the help of a spin dryer. Finally, the super absorber polymers are made by mixing diapers are examined to determine the speed some materials together — and after just a few and effectiveness of biodegradability. seconds she has a flask containing a starchy The key component of this advanced test- gel that can be dried out and processed into ing facility is the “Mannequin Leakage “ sim- powder. Just a couple of spoonfuls of the stuff ulator, which contains a long row of diapered will absorb two liters of liquid. The lab in doll torsos. The torsos release liquid from Greensboro tests diapers every day — about built-in hoses, a process that can be altered Greensboro’s special diaper test 15,000 a year, in fact. The researchers don’t for testing either male or female diapers. just test their own products; they also review “Constant innovation is crucial if we want to different brands of diapers each month and maintain our technological leadership,” says literally dissect them. lab manager Dr. Olaf Hoeller. “Innovations Today’s diapers are high-tech products are kept under wraps, because what we test that are sold to a huge global market. Modern here are top-secret diapers.” manufacturing equipment can produce 600 to 1,000 diapers per minute, and companies INTERSTATE 85, 2 P.M. The leisurely tempo around the world continually seek to make di- is relaxing — except when I’m being passed apers thinner, more absorbent, and better-fit- by one of the gigantic chrome-covered trucks ting. In the 1980s the average diaper weighed that turn up in my rearview mirror like grin- more than 100 grams; today it weighs only 45 ning monsters. After a few days spent driv- grams. Diapers also have their own monthly ing on the interstates, the German debates report, and market updates are published over speed limits on the Autobahn seem very three to four times a year. Every diaper detail far away. The U.S. has speed limits of 55, 60, is examined under a microscope in Greens- or at most 70 miles per hour (112 km/h), and boro, where diapers are also measured, speeders are sure to be spotted very quickly weighed, and evaluated as to cuff elasticity, by the local sheriff or even by radar-equipped fleece properties, stretchability, fastening aircraft. Many areas of life are strictly regu- effectiveness, and odor emissions. Diaper lated in the “land of opportunity.” On TV, surfaces are divided into grids to assess fluid offensive words are drowned out by bleeps. >

46_Evonik_01-08_EN 46 20.02.2008 18:55:36 Uhr 47

Dr. Yaru Shi at work in a Greensboro laboratory

47_Evonik_01-08_EN 47 20.02.2008 18:55:39 Uhr 48 EXPERIENCING AMERICA EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

A tale of two worlds: anglers relax while a cargo ship sails by on the Mobile River; laid-back Southern ﬂ air contrasts with the dynamic heartbeat of an Evonik

> In many states the drinking age is 21, and ATLANTA, 4:40 P.M. Georgia’s capital city, In the heat alcohol can still be carried around on the situated on a ridge southeast of the Chatta- street only in brown paper bags — just like in hoochee River, is much more leafy and of the South the days of Philip Marlowe. charming than I had expected. It’s easy- As I drive on toward Charlotte, North going and has lots of Southern charm. The Carolina, town names such as Westminster, five million inhabitants of greater Atlanta, Walhalla, and Athens reveal the far-flung the home of CNN and Coca-Cola, are dis- origins of the original settlers. tributed over quite a large area. I cross a corner of South Carolina and soon reach Georgia, so named in honor of ATLANTA, 7:30 P.M. I stop in a supermarket King George II. After the Spanish and French parking lot to ask two security guards how had explored this area, 113 English settlers to get to a certain hotel on the outskirts of arrived on February 12, 1733, on the HMS town. They go to great lengths to help me Anne and founded the port city of Savannah. and describe the route to the hotel very This date is still commemorated today as clearly. Two hours later I encounter them Georgia Day. (Although many of its inhabit- again. They kindly ask me if I got to the hotel ants remained loyal to the British crown, all right, and I end up spending a pleasant Georgia was one of the 13 colonies that re- and relaxed evening with them, joking and belled against British rule.) In 1861 Georgia telling stories. Hundreds of people fill the joined the Confederacy, and in the winter bars and restaurants surrounding the land- of 1864–65 the Union general William mark Midtown Art Cinema — mostly sitting Tecumseh Sherman burned down railway outdoors, where they eat, drink, and chat facilities, businesses, and a large proportion vivaciously in their broad and melodious of homes as he cut a swath of destruction Southern accents. across the state. It’s all there to see in Gone with the Wind. INTERSTATE 85, NEAR MONTGOMERY, FRI- The climate in the “Peach State” is subtrop- DAY, 9:50 A.M. After more than 1,000 ki- ical. Ice storms from the north seldom cross lometers, my freeway joins Interstate 65, the Appalachians to disturb this region. But which comes down from Chicago and will drought was a problem during the past two take me today all the way down to the Gulf summers, and there’s an ever-present threat of Mexico. In the Interstate Cafe, a hand- of tornadoes. painted barracks-like building, three fat

48_Evonik_01-08_EN 48 20.02.2008 18:55:42 Uhr 49

itself (pronounced “mobeel” rather than and storage facilities that extend over an area “mobile”) is located at the tip of a huge bay of two and a half square kilometers. Every- at the mouth of the Mobile River. Mobile’s where you look, there are manufacturing French origins are immediately evident. In facilities, tanks, and towers, all of which 1702 it became the first capital of the French are surrounded by pipes and linked to roads colony of Louisiana. and rail lines. As we tour the facility, our During World War II, a gigantic warship guide tells us that all of it is “basically a giant production industry grew up around the bay, chemical kit.” The site has its own dock, attracting many new inhabitants. Between water treatment facilities, and a shuttle bus. 1940 and 1943 the city’s population grew by Employees who need to move around a lot almost 90,000. After the war, Mobile re- travel on bicycles and small golf carts. Land mained an industrial center and became an has even been set aside for future expansion; increasingly popular site for company head- it’s currently being used by a peanut and cot- quarters, with attractive leisure opportuni- ton farmer. Industries plant ties for managers and their families. Today “It’s an excellent location,” says plant man- it’s the home of EADS, Ciba, Kimberly-Clark, ager Tom Bates, pointing out that Mobile has and Evonik. ThyssenKrupp is now investing good rail, ship, and air connections and is also $3.7 billion in a new steelworks here. easily reachable by car and truck. The region The sunlight along the coast is bright, and around the city is home to many engineers a blue sky full of puffy white clouds arches and experts in information technology, over the ships in the water. In the warship finance, and security systems. In other words, park in Mobile, visitors can admire a genuine it’s got everything that’s needed to operate African-American ladies are amused by the World War II veteran, the battleship USS Al- complex industrial facilities around the clock sight of me, a clueless tourist perusing a abama. The local newspaper carries reports — or “24/7,” as the Americans say. The prod- large map. The café offers its guests all the on class reunions, births, farewell parties, ucts manufactured in Mobile include hydro- watery coffee they can drink. mosquito-spraying aircraft, and the 75th an- gen peroxide, a bleach used in the paper and Welcome to Alabama, one of the hottest niversary of the largest fishing competition pulp industry; amino acids for animal feed; states in the U.S. and a paradise for farmers, ever, the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, semi-finished goods for plastic synthesis; and as the growing season can last 300 days here. which was attended by more than 3,000 coatings for everything from houses and gar- The downside, however, includes powerful fishermen and some 100,000 spectators on den tools to airplanes. AEROSIL, an extremely thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurri- Dauphin Island. fine silicic acid invented in 1942 by Degussa canes. And for much of Alabama’s history, life I have a late lunch at Wintzell’s Oyster chemist Harry Kloepfer, is also made here was difficult for dark-skinned people, who House, a local institution for the past 68 and can be found in more than 250 products labored on gigantic cotton plantations until years, according to the menu. There’s a ranging from tires to toothpaste. AEROSIL the abolition of slavery in 1865. blurred photo of the restaurant’s founder, a also makes paints more scratch-resistant and This farming state, which used to be fat man sleeping slumped over a table in his silicone more stable, provides the UV protec- poor, is now booming, with an unemploy- restaurant. The waiter quickly brings me a tion in sun creams, and helps to polish the ment rate of only 3 percent. Steelworks, dozen oysters, which I drizzle with lemon wafers for computer chips. aircraft production, and other heavy indus- juice and eat using a small green plastic fork. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina laid waste tries are practically jostling for space. Ap- They’re absolutely delicious. to the region around Mobile over a swath proximately 70,000 new jobs have been of land more than 600 kilometers long. But created in automobile production plants. despite the ever-present danger of tropical By the beginning of 2009, Alabama is ex- Evonik’s biggest chemicals plant storms, the people who live in Mobile and pected to replace Detroit as the United outside Europe the industries there have no intention of States’ top automobile manufacturing lo- leaving. That’s because they love it: Mobile cation. But even though Alabama is boom- Evonik Industries AG’s most important in- is a charming city with a lively sports culture ing, not everything is on the up and up here. dustrial plant is in Theodore, Alabama, near — and employee turnover in its industries is Ex-governor Don Siegelman, who used to Mobile on the Gulf Coast. Thirty-three years extremely low. fly to Europe and the Far East to attract in- ago, the first bulldozers arrived here to begin Community counts for a lot here, and the dustry to his state, is now serving a prison building a new chemical plant. Today, some chemical plant tries to be a good citizen as sentence for bribery and other crimes. 700 Evonik employees and around 150 con- well, says Bates. Among other things, the tract employees keep the Group’s biggest company encourages volunteer work and MOBILE, 1 P.M. The last 280 kilometers to non-European chemical facility humming. supports educational and social initiatives the coast have rolled by quickly. The city The plant houses a dozen production units and the arts. <

49_Evonik_01-08_EN 49 20.02.2008 18:55:45 Uhr 50 INSPIRING RUHR.2010 EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Rallying for the Ruhr Region Turkish-German TV personality Asli Sevindim promotes culture in the Ruhr District and the integration of immigrants in Germany

At “Baramane” in Essen, RUHR.2010 cultural director Asli Sevindim takes a break from TV news anchoring duties and efforts on behalf of the Ruhr region

50_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:50 20.02.2008 18:30:07 Uhr 51

SERIES THE CULTURAL DIRECTORS OF RUHR.2010 u ASLI SEVINDIM

TEXT CATRIN KRAWINKEL 50 guests in attendance. She then proceeds PHOTOGRAPHY NORBERT ENKER to confidently moderate two hours of lively discussion. Later, she reveals that she isn’t “I WAS BORN IN DUISBURG — and feeling well because she was up working I imagine I’ll probably die in Duisburg,” practically all night after a terrorist plot was says radio and television journalist Asli uncovered. Sevindim doesn’t look tired Sevindim. “I’m simply a Ruhr girl, through though, just a little pale, maybe — “but most and through!” people would say my skin complexion is too Sevindim, 34, walks quickly through light for someone of Turkish ethnicity.” Robert Schmidt Hall at the headquarters of Asli Sevindim is always on the move, the RVR regional organization in Essen and and today is no exception. After the literary takes a seat next to Fritz Pleitgen, former conference, she takes a short break at a director of the WDR broadcasting com- Middle Eastern snack bar before heading pany and currently managing director of off to a studio in Düsseldorf, where she RUHR. 2010 GmbH. “Welcome, ladies and has been hosting a daily 40-minute TV gentlemen, to RUHR.2010’s first literary news show with her colleague Martin von conference,” Sevindim says to the roughly Mauschwitz for the past year-and-a-half. > PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL KNEFFEL PHOTOGRAPHY: Discussion in Duisburg: Fritz Pleitgen with cultural directors Asli Sevindim and Dieter Gorny

51_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:51 20.02.2008 18:30:10 Uhr 52 INSPIRING RUHR.2010 EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Focused and dedicated: A press conference for the MELEZ.07 Cultural Festival

Asli Sevindim

> Sevindim does the newscast every weekday region all the time, Sevindim recently lost her parents for the first time. In real life, starting at 6:50 p.m. and alternates on the her driver’s license for the second time. But Asli Sevindim has been married to a German weekends. She also works for WDR radio, she takes it all in stride. man for 12 years. and was one of the founders of the Alte “My mother would have rather had her Feuerwache, a cultural center in Duisburg. A CONFESSED SCATTERBRAIN toenails pulled out than see me marry a Culture and the integration of immi- “I’m totally chaotic — and I can’t help it, I just ‘potato,’“ says the protagonist in Sevindim’s grants in German society have been im- love driving fast on the autobahn,” con- semi-autobiographical novel. “Potato” is a portant to Asli Sevindim ever since she was fesses Sevindim. She certainly didn’t inherit derogatory expression some Turks use to a schoolgirl. She has always devoted her her chaotic nature from her Muslim refer to Germans, inspired by the popularity free time to addressing and publicizing parents, who always taught Asli and her of potatoes as a staple in German cooking these issues, and eventually she and some two younger sisters to be careful and to stay — and also because many immigrants find of the people she worked with contacted out of trouble: “I wasn’t allowed to read the Germans a bit boring. Still, Sevindim’s officials from RUHR.2010. “That’s how teeny magazines, and we had to really fight husband succeeded in winning over her I got to know them, and after we talked to get permission to go to the disco.” family — including Aunt Ferya. Today, one they invited me to go with a special group Sevindim’s parents are from Eski¸sehir, of Sevindim’s younger sisters is also married to Brussels to present the RUHR.2010 an industrial city in Anatolia, from where to a German, and the families celebrate project’s case for making the Ruhr region they emigrated to Duisburg in 1971. “I still German and Turkish holidays together. the European Capital of Culture.” have about 140 cousins and a whole bunch When asked if her personality is more The trip was a big success, and on April of uncles and aunts living in Turkey,” she Turkish or more German, Sevindim replies: 11, 2006, the same day the Ruhr District was says. “One of them is my Aunt Ferya, a “My husband says I’m an Anatolian Prus- named European Capital of Culture for 2010, deeply religious woman who is completely sian — because I’m stern, strong-minded, it was also announced that Asli Sevindim convinced that people who eat pork never and soft at the same time. I, on the other had been selected to serve as one of the four get jealous, which she doesn’t like because hand, would describe myself as down-to- cultural directors of RUHR.2010, and the she believes that men who don’t get jealous earth, uncomplicated, and straightfor- only woman director. This, of course, has aren’t real men.” ward.” To that we would hasten to add made her schedule even busier. “The only Sevindim describes a woman like her unpretentious, humorous, and direct. thing I wish for at the moment is to not have Aunt Ferya in her first book — Candlelight Sevindim believes categorizing people a heart attack,” she says with a smile. With Döner — a novel that tells the story of a according to their nationality is foolish and her work load — and the speed with which Turkish-German family, including the mo- only serves to propagate stereotypes. “I she gets things done — you might think ment when a 20-year-old woman (who just think there’s such a thing as a regional char- she isn’t really joking. And because she’s so happens to remind the reader of Sevin- acter, but not a national one — and I find this always in a hurry, racing around the Ruhr dim) introduces her German boyfriend to confirmed by my everyday experiences,” >

52_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:52 21.02.2008 13:00:41 Uhr 53

regards culture and integration as absolutely crucial

Sevindim takes a quick lunch break at the “Haydar Ustanin Yeri” Turkish restaurant in the Marxloh district of Duisburg

53_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:53 20.02.2008 18:30:16 Uhr BIOGRAPHY As early as her high school days, Asli Sevindim, 34, worked at a local radio station in Duisburg. After studying political science at the University of Duisburg-Essen, she began working for the WDR broadcasting company in 1999. In 2003, she became the host of Cosmo TV, and three years later she took over the co-anchor position in the Aktuelle Stunde news program. Sevindim has also made a name for herself as an author: her novel Candlelight Döner — Geschichten über meine deutsch-türkische Familie was published in 2005. In March 2007, Sevindim hosted the 43rd Adolf Grimme Awards, which is one of the most important media awards presented in Germany. She is also a cultural director at the RUHR.2010 organization, where she is responsible for the “City of Cultures” program.

Even without a German

Whether on the job or in her role as a cultural director — Asli Sevindim likes to get to the bottom of things and quickly puts ideas into practice

54_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:54 20.02.2008 18:30:19 Uhr EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 RUHR.2010 INSPIRING 55

Relaxed and professional: Preparing to go on camera for the news show

passport, she feels like a genuine Ruhr girl

> she says. “Ultimately, every nation is made Europe — a multicultural mix that serves as on a major earthquake in Turkey back in up of those who are nice and those who are an inspiration and shows that one is never 1999. “That’s because some of my relatives nasty in temperament, of simple people and alone, but rather always surrounded by were living in the region, so it wasn’t easy complicated individuals.” people with a wide variety of lifestyles. for me,” she recalls. Sevindim also doesn’t like it when Ger- Still, negative feelings and pessimism mans say foreigners should adapt to German PASSIONATE DIVER simply aren’t in the character of this light- ways. “I really don’t know what that’s Sevindim is a passionate diver, so the only hearted lady with big brown eyes. Sevindim supposed to mean,” she says. “Whose ways other place she could imagine living would says she’s looking forward to “getting to exactly are we supposed to adapt to? Where be the Maldives, or maybe Hawaii. Before know the Ruhr District even better, now is that ideal German? We have in this coun- she can get into all that, though, we arrive that I’m serving as a RUHR.2010 cultural try a wonderful constitution that applies to at the modern studio building in Düssel- director. This is really a great privilege for everyone. So is someone supposed to tell dorf’s harbor district. “Sorry, I’ve got to get me.” Sevindim plans to do a good job and me what kind of wallpaper I can put up in to a meeting for tonight’s news show, fol- accomplish something for her region: “We my house, what I should eat, and how I lowed by an internal meeting. And then want RUHR.2010 to have a long-term should dress?” She also gets very irritated I have to write up my script and talk with impact on people’s lives here. One of the whenever Germans complain to her about the director,” she says before taking off. things I’m hoping to see, for example, is an foreigners: “Obviously these people don’t We meet again two-and-a-half hours intercultural opening through institutions even realize that I’m Turkish.” later, while Sevindim is sitting in front of a like museums, as well as a greater concen- Although Sevindim still doesn’t have a makeup mirror and having her hair done. tration of the potential we have in the Ruhr, German passport (“dealing with paper- Nothing about her demeanor betrays the which would allow us to draw even closer work isn’t one of my strengths”), she feels fact that in a little less than two hours she’ll together and become a true metropolis. “ like a true-blue girl from the Ruhr region — be reporting to a television audience of That won’t leave much time for Sevin- a young woman who’s been shaped by the approximately one million viewers, address- dim’s private life: “But my family supports geography, life, and people in the region ing serious topics including a thwarted me,” she says. When there’s time between around Duisburg. “I love how one city just terrorist attack in Germany, the death of her job and volunteer activities, she enjoys seems to seamlessly transition into the Luciano Pavarotti, and the disappearance long breakfasts with her husband, or going other here,” she says. “The sheer size of ev- of “Hanna,” a 14-year-old German girl. for a piece of Black Forest cherry cake at erything here, the great variety, the parks, “Of course these things affect me — but her favorite cafe. “Family and food are the the laid back people, and the tremendous you have to maintain a professional dis- most important things — I couldn’t do with- cultural offerings are just fantastic.” For tance in this job,” she explains. The only out them,” she says wistfully. Her thoughts Sevindim, the 5.3 million people who live in time she has ever had to struggle to rein in are interrupted by a call to go to Studio 1: the Ruhr region are like a kind of miniature her emotions was when she had to report It’s time for the news. <

55_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:55 21.02.2008 13:00:56 Uhr 56 DEBATING MANAGERS’ SALARIES EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008 Should Managers’ Salaries

In view of the modest increases in general wages and salaries, the high remuneration of top managers has become a hotly discussed topic. Opinions range from expressions of strict non-involvement to demands for the legal capping of top managers’ salaries

HARD TO JUSTIFY I believe that annual salaries in the double-digit millions for top executives of companies listed in the DAX are hard to justify. The guideline should be the principle that a top executive’s earnings should not be greater than 100 times the average salary of the company’s employees. If the average salary in a company is €35,000, the top managers’ salaries should not exceed €3.5 million. Hans-Otto Schrader, the new CEO of the major mail-order company Otto

LOSS OF THE ELITES DISCUSSION RATHER THAN EN- If we treat our country’s elites badly, VIOUS COMMENTS we’ll lose them. After all, they’re not bound The debate about managers’ salaries is not an exchange of to Germany as a workplace. envious comments but a dis- Klaus-Peter Müller, Chairman of the Supervisory Council of Commerzbank from May 2008, cussion of the lack of social solidarity in our who nonetheless believes that some managers’ salaries are too high country. None of us want to live in a country where people care only about themselves and line their own pockets without consideration for anyone else. Millions of employees have seen how the managers of their companies FLIGHT focus primarily on short-term profit while the If the government employees are treated like cost items that happen to be human. We need to return to a were to reduce top corporate culture of responsibility in which employees receive the recognition they managers’ salaries, deserve. Their reliability, inventiveness, and there would be an exodus commitment are Germany’s most important strengths as a business location. Smart entre- of managers from Germany preneurs — and there are many of them — realize that the secret of our prosperity is, and has to London or elsewhere. always been, social harmony. Hans-Werner Sinn, President of the Institute Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Vice-Chancellor for Economic Research (Ifo), Munich and Deputy Chairman of the SPD

56_Evonik_01-08_EN 56 20.02.2008 18:34:13 Uhr 57 Be Legally Capped?

SHARED NO LEGAL LIMITS RESPONSIBILITY In the election campaigns in the I don’t want to comment on individual cases. It would federal states, the grand coalition certainly be helpful if more shouldn’t be tempted to take the managers were to participate in this debate, which is im- wrong approach and pass laws that portant for our society. It’s also necessary for limit the remuneration of top managers. the labor unions to get involved. In Germany Jürgen Thumann, President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) we practice employee co-determination, with employee representatives making up almost half of the members of corporate supervisory councils. That means both groups bear shared responsibility for resolving this issue. Angela Merkel (CDU), German Chancellor THE PROPORTIONS ARE OUT OF CONTROL The problem is that the proportions are out of

STRENGTHENING control: managers’ salaries are growing spectacu- SHAREHOLDERS’ larly, while the average salaries of employees INFLUENCE It’s up to a company’s owners are stagnating. My urgent recommendation is directed at the to decide how much to pay their managers. We can talk business world itself: the companies should show more about how shareholders can sensitivity when they make decisions concerning their top strengthen their influence in their companies’ annual general meetings, but I think politically managers’ salaries. motivated caps on salaries are counterproduc- Norbert Lammert (CDU), President of the Bundestag tive. Salaries set by the government, uniform salaries or set prices for bread — that would be a planned economy, the German Democratic Republic all over again but without the Wall.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DPA PHOTOGRAPHY: Guido Westerwelle, Chairman of the FDP

57_Evonik_01-08_EN 57 20.02.2008 18:34:17 Uhr 58 LIVING EVONIK MAGAZINE 1/2008

Virtual Beaming TOM SCHIMMECK discusses augmented reality, a mix of the virtual and real worlds that’s likely to soon be shaping our everyday lives ILLUSTRATION: DIGITAL VISION DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION:

HOW REAL ARE YOU, MR. STRICKER? Dr. Didier Stricker and with amazing precision. Later, perhaps, when a worker flashes a grin. That’s not a technical question, says the French approaches to drill into the wall, the data goggles he is wearing will engineer, it’s a philosophical one. Stricker, 37, is head of the Virtual enable him to see exactly where pipes and cables are located. Using and Augmented Reality department at the Fraunhofer Institute for 3D projection, scientists would be able to take part in virtual meet- Computer Graphics (IGD) in Darmstadt, and he’s always working ings with colleagues, and business people could meet their custom- on the “fringes of reality.” His job is to continually blur the ers virtually, represented by an “avatar” — a virtual being sus- distinction between reality and “virtuality.” pended in space that can conduct a presentation or demonstration. That would save a lot of time and gasoline. Is it the precursor to And no, his work isn’t focused on the world’s legions of video game Star Trek-style beaming? “Exactly,” says Stricker, “virtual beaming.” fanatics — or at least not exclusively. Stricker’s area of expertise is augmented reality, or “AR” for short. Augmented reality is giving AR would feed our senses with a wealth of additional information — us a glimpse of what work and communication will look like in the images, sounds and numbers — and all in real time. Researchers have future, when the era of “ubiquitous computing” emerges. Monitors, invested their best efforts in goggles that provide an open field of keyboards and even the computer mouse will quickly become use- vision while simultaneously depicting all kinds of additional input for less then. New interfaces will be needed to discern the observer’s the human eye. To do this, a good AR system must precisely detect position and line of sight, perceive his or her wishes and commands, and follow the person’s position and line of sight in order to continu- and make information visible. That which comes from the com- ously adjust to these factors. This is what makes it possible to project puter, Stricker says, should be “immediately incorporated into the a 3D image of a matching teacup onto a real saucer — and to let this real environment.” This means our real world is increasingly going virtual cup stay in its position while the observer is moving. to be mingled with another world, lightning fast and artificially generated — by a computer. In Darmstadt the researchers are working with increasingly complex simulations of shadows and light. Their aim is for a virtual Are we looking forward to this era? And if so, why do we need AR? sofa to actually look identical to a real sofa, not like an image of the “Because everything is becoming increasingly complex all the time,” sofa. They also have developed a system called CAVE, which is says Stricker, who served as the technical coordinator of ARVIKA a big cube with sides measuring 2.4 meters. In this cube, people can (Augmented Reality for Development, Production and Servicing), stand and move within a virtual image that emanates from ten a large consortium of companies, from Airbus to Zeiss, that projectors in five directions. A famous complex of caves near the were eager to learn what AR has to offer — in the area of service, city of Dunhuang in China, which was created by Buddhist monks for example. Take, for example, the search for a way to replace between 400 and 1400 AD, was virtually re-created for tourists, increasingly voluminous manuals and PDF files with visualization with help from scientists who are experts in restoration. on site. That’s of great interest to German engineering firms that export their state of the art products and equipment to locations With AR, moving from the prototype stage to realization of a halfway around the world. But sometimes the equipment won’t run product will take at least a decade, says Stricker. The driving force due to some minute detail. “So a support technician gets on a plane is the automotive industry, but also automation companies like and flies to the customer,” says Stricker, “where he turns two bolts Siemens. And the video game industry will soon see to it that the and then flies home.” He is convinced AR could be used to quickly technology becomes widespread, while also bringing costs and clearly “walk” the users at the site through the needed steps. down. User acceptance also plays a key role. The data goggles need to be lighter, less complicated and improved overall. “People will The list of possible areas of application seems endless. In the future, have to really want to use them.” Decisive factors are attractive and architects and their clients would be able to see a new building elegant design, explains Stricker in his velvety French accent. as it will really appear in its surroundings, and a masonry contractor Making it possible for image data to appear at the right place, in top would be able to see the wall he is about to build — depicted in situ quality and the right lighting — “that’s the magic of it,” he says. <

Tom Schimmeck, 48, ﬁ nds looking into the laboratories of the future fascinating. He has written for the TAZ, Tempo, Der Spiegel, and Die Woche, among others. The illustration is an abstract computer-generated digital composition

58_Evonik_01-08_EN Abs2:58 20.02.2008 18:38:45 Uhr GREAT CLIM TE UKom-Agentur 01/08 1375-1497

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59_Evonik_01-08_EN 59 13.02.2008 20:28:41 Uhr Keep it flowing!

One out of every two children in southern Africa does not go to school. Millions of children therefore have no opportunity to get an education. Help us keep the ink ﬂ ow- ing. Help us build schools for Africa. www.unicef.de

60_Evonik_01-08_EN 60 13.02.2008 18:29:40 Uhr