Inspired by Nature: Biosurfactants* Elements #55 June 2016

PLASMA MAKES FERTILIZER CATALYSIS: FINDING FROM THE WIND ROUTES AROUND RHODIUM

ELEMENTSJUNE 2016 # 55

INSPIRED BY NATURE: BIOSURFACTANTS* ELEMENTS #55 JUNE 2016

THE INNOVATION MAGAZINE * EVONIK: HAVE WE AGAINST FAT SOMETHING DIRT. AND

ELEMENTS #55 JUNE 2016 Have the perfect idea for new plant processes? Let’s make it work! As a global leader in specialty chemicals, we are looking for engineers and scientists who have creative ideas to solve challenging tasks. Sound like you? Then be part of our international team. Learn more about our countless opportunities at: evonik.com/careers

Exploring opportunities. Growing together.

EVO_EB_CE_elements_230x300_EN_RZ_220416.indd 1 22.04.16 14:39 Evonik is the first EDITORIAL company to produce biosurfactants in industrial quantities Page 4 Entrepreneurial thinking

People who think outside of the box can be CONTENTS rather annoying because they like to contradict. And this is exactly why we need them for the Dr. Ulrich Küsthardt 4 Biosurfactants innovation process—because they question Chief Innovation How cleaning power Officer existing processes and spot opportunities Evonik Industries AG can be accomplished that others cannot yet see and which have a ulrich.kuesthardt with special yeasts @evonik.com potential for innovation. Einstein put it this way: 10 Surfactants How a new process boosts the “We cannot solve our problems with the same

concentration of care products thinking we used when we created them.” 13 Medical Devices In order to be able to do that you have to Where biopolymers can help change your perspective—we should think the body to heal about what the market needs and what we can 14 Nitrogen Fixation accomplish with our expertise instead of focusing How surplus wind power on what we can invent with our technologies. makes fertilizer That’s because in the end the customer and 20 Catalysis consumer decide if an idea is good or not—not the Which substance could become a strong rival of rhodium person who had the idea. Entrepreneurial skills are necessary for 28 Biolab Why Evonik relies on Shanghai changing one’s perspective. An entrepreneur sees for yeast development opportunities for new business and is determined 29 Guest Commentary to put them into practice even against opposition. 3 Prof. Dr. Yan Feng: What He includes customers early on and builds up a China offers in biotechnology network. He is passionate in pursuing his ideas 31 Entrepreneurship and ensures that they will not get held up in daily How to strengthen entre routine. preneurs within companies Companies should foster this attitude in their 32 University of Tokyo employees. We therefore invited the finalists How a university gets startups and hydrogels moving of the current Ideation Jam at Evonik to a boot camp. The around 30 participants spent three 36 Innovation Management Why companies must move days becoming familiar with the methods of a

out of their comfort zones corporate entrepreneur and further developing 8 Data Mining Surfactants their ideas for new projects. I was stunned 17 CompanyNews by the commitment and the enthusiasm they 24 Corporate Foresight demonstrated when entering new territory. Tissue Engineering 26 Professionals Dr. Daniel Rost This is exactly what the innovation process is 38 Wishlist all about—you have to be open to alternatives in Prof. Martyn Poliakoff order to find new directions. Entrepreneurship 39 Book Tips/Masthead is not a profession but a way of thinking: No initial situation or condition has to be accepted as unchangeable. Photography page 3: C3, Evonik (2) (2) Evonik C3, 3: page Photography |

Feedback Loves challenges: Dr. Daniel Rost. Tell us your opinion Page 26 of elements:

Cover and back cover: Vetta/Getty Images cover: and back Cover [email protected]

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: BIOSURFACTANTS

CLEAN AND

4 TINY HELPERS Evonik has developed biosurfactants that, in addition to delivering the full cleaning power of a surfactant, are also exceptionally well tolerated by the skin and the environment. They are produced by yeasts and bacteria.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: BIOSURFACTANTS

Dr. Hans Henning Wenk

hat Evonik has ush- ered in this year is nothing short of a generational shift in personal care and cleaning products: a biosurfactant developed by researchers in Wthe Nutrition & Care Segment is ready for the market and will be the first to fully meet all requirements for this kind of product—without compromise. It cleans well, is unaffected by water hardness, is gentle to the skin, can be produced entirely from renewable resources—with no need for tropical oils—and is biodegradable and safe for aquatic organisms. Surfactants are the substances that—due to their special molecular structure—give laundry detergents, shower gels, shampoos, and dish soaps their cleaning power. Along with water, they constitute the most important components of these products, and are the bedrock of daily cleaning and hygiene. Used as a cleanser for centuries, soap is probably the oldest surfactant known. Al- though made from natural resources, its high pH makes it less than gentle on the skin. Its cleaning power is not terribly impressive either, and, when used in hard water, it causes calcium and magnesium salts to precipitate, resulting in soap scum. The first generation of synthetic surfac- 5 tants was far superior to soap in terms of cleaning power and stability in hard water, but the poor biodegradability of these substances resulted in mountains of foam forming in rivers and lakes. This problem was solved with the next generation of biodegradable surfactants—these, however, still were not particularly gentle on the skin and were manufactured from petrochemical raw materials. Even though biodegradable surfactants that are tolerated by the skin and made from renewable resources have been available for some time, they still have considerable room for improvement: The right balance between cleaning power and skin tolerance is still a compromise, and tropical oils remain an indispensable raw material. A way out of the niche This is where biosurfactants come into play. Produced naturally by microorganisms, Inspired by nature: The Starmerella these surfactants combine performance, bombicola yeast, which skin gentleness, and biodegradability to an Evonik uses to produce unprecedented degree, and in addition they biosurfactants, is found are based entirely on renewable resources— in the honey made by bumblebees. with no need for tropical oils. Sophorolipids have already been known to researchers for decades. This special type of biosurfactant from the family of glycolipids is produced by yeasts and occurs naturally in materials such as the honey made by bumblebees. In the late 1980s, scientists recognized the potential of these molecules

Photography: shutterstock Photography: as detergents, but were not successful in

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: BIOSURFACTANTS

developing a commercially interesting It would take a long time, however, until process for manufacturing them. Although enough samples of suitable quality were the first biosurfactants have been on the available. Because of their unique structure, market for several years, these are high- surfactants bind with a large number of both ly specialized, costly, and available only in hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances, small quantities. Consequently, they have making it extraordinarily difficult to sepa- Figure 1: Superior nature not found broad application in detergents rate out yeast cells and the byproducts of the and personal care products so far. bioprocess. The company also had to devel- Yeast enzymes easily do something that presents a real challenge for chemists: synthesizing With support from Creavis and Process op an additional modification step in order sophorolipids from sugar and canola oil. Technology, the Biobased Materials research to optimize the surface activity of the ma- team (now part of Nutrition & Care) took on terial for the target application. And finally, sophorolipids in 2010 with the aim of suc- the product needed to be as concentrated as Ac ceeding where others had failed. After all, possible in order to reduce transport costs Lactone O as biosurfactants, sophorolipids promised and offer the customer as much flexibility as form a unique combination of properties that no possible for developing formulations. Only O Ac HO O group of detergents had yet been able to de- once they had cleared these hurdles were O liver. the application technology laboratories able HO O Not only do sophorolipids have a complex to take a close look at sophorolipids and es- O chemical structure (Fig. 1)—synthesizing tablish their market advantages. O glycolipids in general is a challenging task, The technical application properties are HO OH as the hydrophilic sugar component is very not the only critical features for achieving difficult to join to the lipophilic half of the a successful market position, however: The molecule. Although this problem still gives sophorolipid profile also opens up new op- O chemists a headache, it was solved long ago portunities for formulators wishing to dis- by the Starmerella bombicola yeast. Enzymes tinguish their products from the competi- within these microorganisms turn sugar tion in the rapidly growing green market. Ac and canola oil into sophorolipids in a series The fermentative production process is not Acid form O of enzyme-catalyzed steps. Theoretically, all the only factor in this equation—its extraor- that is left to do is to isolate the product, but dinary environmental compatibility plays a O that has turned out to be a tricky task on an role as well, as does the fact that it is made Ac HO O O industrial scale. from 100 percent renewable resources found HO O in Europe. A calculated risk That Evonik was able to develop this com- HO O 6 The first challenge arose even before the plex biotech process (Fig. 2) to the point of HO OH biotech process: Not enough material was marketability in just five years was primarily available for analyzing whether sophorolip- because all of the technical expertise need- HOOC ids met all of the test requirements for deter- ed—from analysis to process development gents. But in order to know for sure whether and final processing—was available in-house it would be worth the effort to develop the in the form of an interdisciplinary team col- bioprocess, Evonik first had to develop the laborating seamlessly across multiple de- process—a chicken-and-egg dilemma. The partments and segments. The team also had company decided to take a calculated risk; a head start thanks to early cooperation with even wild-type Starmerella bombicola, after an industrial partner who had already been all, had all of the properties needed for in- experimenting with sophorolipids for some dustrial production. In genetic terms, at any time. rate, the company did not expect any sur- The successful scale-up at Evonik Fermas prises. allowed the company to take the next step:

Figure 2. The biotechnological process

Starch from plants is The microorganisms Storage, filling, and processed to form simple convert sugar into bio- transportation sugars surfactants

Special microorganisms Separation of cells and are cultivated in fermen- byproducts ters and fed with sugar

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: BIOSURFACTANTS

to a harmless bacterium, which now serves The expert as the production organism. The bacterium was also modified in such a way that, unlike the wild-type species, it does not depend on oil as a food source, but instead obtains all of its carbon from sugar. The process engineering involved turned out to be even more sophisticated than was the case for sophorolipids. Not only does the Dr. Hans Henning medium need to be vigorously stirred in the Wenk heads the R&D bioreactor—it also has to be thoroughly aer- Biobased Materials ated in order to accommodate respiration in Department within the the aerobic microorganisms. Given the pow- Nutrition & Care Segment, where new erful foam-forming properties of rhamno- The first household cleansers containing sophorolipids are now on raw materials are de- supermarket shelves. lipids, keeping the foam inside the bioreactor veloped for cosmetics was no easy job. and other applications. After numerous failed attempts, however, henning.wenk strict process control yielded the solution. @evonik.com At a glance: industrial-scale production. The Household As with sophorolipids, close collaboration Biosurfactants… Care Business Line in the Nutrition & Care between Creavis, Process Technology, and Segment has managed to enter the market R&D groups in Nutrition & Care enabled for the first time: Ecover, a Belgian detergent Evonik to meet the challenge of designing an 1 …are gentle on the and cleanser manufacturer, has launched its efficient product preparation process. skin and thus ideal first products containing sophorolipids from In order to develop a product that ade- for use in cleaning Fermas, and these are now on supermarket quately meets market needs, intense collab- products as well as in shelves. oration with selected customers was estab- personal care products. Development does not stop with success- lished early in the work with rhamnolipids. ful market entry, however. Researchers, for After all, Evonik’s goal is to use biosurfac- 2 instance, are searching databases to deter- tants as a vehicle for expanding its leading …have a powerful mine whether other microorganisms could market position in gentle, next-generation cleansing effect produce sophorolipids perhaps even more surfactants. and excellent foam- forming properties. efficiently; at the same time, the Creavis bio Although there are still a few hurdles to laboratory in Shanghai is working to opti- surmount before commercial production mize the Starmerella bombicola fermentation can begin, the company is just about to take 7 3 process (see page 28). an important step on the road to the com- …work better in mercialization of rhamnolipids: Before the combination with Rhamnolipids for year is out, Evonik Fermas will be starting enzymes than traditional surfactants long-lasting foam up a pilot plant for testing important process do. Because the demands on biosurfactants vary parameters under industrial conditions and from one application to the next, Evonik is for producing initial batches of products that looking to molecules other than sophorolip- customers can use for pilot studies. 4 …are unaffected by ids that it can develop for use in cleansers and hard water. personal care products using biotech production processes. Researchers also iden- tified a second class of interesting products 5 known as rhamnolipids—another glycolipid …are produced (Fig. 3) that, in addition to its mildness and entirely from environmental compatibility, is known renewable, non- tropical raw materials. largely for its powerful foam-forming effects. Consumers perceive foam as a sign of cleaning power in detergents and cleans- Figure 3. Creamy foam 6 ers—a factor even more important than its …are 100 percent impact on the actual cleansing effects of the Desired in application but feared in production: The rhamnolipids that Evonik biodegradable. product. Long-lasting suds signal thorough is currently developing generate especially large amounts of foam. cleaning, especially in emerging markets, where a good deal of laundry is still washed 7 OH …are an order of by hand, even as standards of hygiene are magnitude more increasing. The same applies to shampoos O compatible with and shower gels, where a creamy lather is O O OH CH aquatic organisms OH 3 seen as a sign of gentle care. Unlike sopho- OH O O than conventional O surfactants. rolipids, rhamnolipids required the skills of O microbiologists during the initial process Photography: shutterstock, Wildhirt Bannert, Dirk Stefan Photography: | CH development stage. In nature, the molecule 3 OH OH is produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that is found in abundance in the soil and in water, but that is potentially pathogenic to humans. Occupational safety alone was reason enough for Creavis re-

Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic: searchers to transfer the metabolic pathway

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: SURFACTANTS

DATA MINING The foam makers Showering, washing, cleaning—without surfactants all these activities would be a drag. That’s because surfactants are amphiphilic: they “like” both oil and water. That’s why they’re able to remove dirt and grime, provide bubbles and foam for bathtime fun, and degrease and lubricate. We take a look at the market for surfactants, the way they work and their applications.

Composition of surfactants Why soap bubbles burst Surfactants consist of a polar (hydrophilic) part and In a soap bubble two surfactant a nonpolar (hydrophobic) alkyl group. Nonionic and layers enclose a film of water. inorganic surfactants have a combined market share Gravity makes the water flow of around 90%. downward; the two surfactant layers above touch and repel each other, thereby causing the bubble to burst. Nonionic surfactants Soap bubble Hydrophilic Hydrophobic Resistance to acids, al- kalies and hard water. Primarily used in washing powder and detergents, and as emulsifiers. Anionic surfactants Micelle High washing power. 8 – Primarily used in household detergents, washing Dirt/oil/air and dishwasher powders, and washing-up liquid. Cationic surfactants Surfactants form micelles + High affinity to fibers. Nonpolar substances—oil, dirt, Primarily used in fabric air—migrate to the nonpolar Surfactant softeners and conditioners. interior of the micelles. This molecules is why surfactants clean and Film of water Amphoteric surfactants lather. Very mild. Preferred for - + use in cosmetics.

41% Laundry and sustainability

45% 33% According to a survey of around Europe’s washing temperature 29% 5,000 consumers from 23 European (wash-cycle temperature) countries from the end of 2014, 23% energy use is a key factor. In 2014 a large share of Europe’s laundry (79%) 25% 15% was washed at an ener- 21% 13% gy-saving temperature of below 60 °C; the average wash temperature was 9% 42.6 °C. Answers (multiple responses possible) Answers (multiple - Share of laundry of Share - 30 °C and 40 °C 50 °C 60 °C and

below above ciency standards emissions 2 Energy use CO tainability label Less is more Cold 40 °C 60 °C (Energy saving in % according to Conforming to social Instead of 40 °C Instead of 60 °C Instead of 90 °C sus a to Conforming temperature reduction) High economic effi Impact on water quality Washing laundry at a temperature of 40 °C instead of 50–65% 35–45% 35% Source: 60 °C can save up to 45% of A.I.S.E.© 2014, A.I.S.E. Low the energy used. Temperature Washing Initiative 2013, CESIO, TEGEWA e.V.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: SURFACTANTS

Use of surfactants Other (each < 2%) How often Europe washes in Western Europe 3 Construction industry, Washing machine Dishwasher Apart from washing, metalworking industry surfactants are also 3 used in many industrial Chemical industry Per week and Per week and 3.1 x per household 4.3 x per household processes, e.g., for 5 54 Industrial cleaning % Detergents wetting, dissolving, and cleaning The foam makers agents: defoaming and 10 Textiles, fibers household 84% full 94% full lubricating. and industrial

15 Cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries

A global market (2015, in million US$) 5,536 The market volume for surfactants is currently US$34 billion (approx. 14.8 million metric tons). Regional 2,718 differences are relatively small: Washing and cleaning 1,884 are global needs. China Source: Japan IHS Chemical Estimates, IHS 2015 Central and Eastern Europe

4,214 999 9,959 Middle East Western 4,900 Europe

North America 3,270 – 597 Rest of Asia – 9 Africa Latin America (including Mexico)

+ +

- +- + Infographics: C3 Visual Lab Infographics: | Photography: Radomir Tarasov/Alamy Stock Photo Photo Stock Tarasov/Alamy Radomir Photography:

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: SURFACTANTS CONCENTRATED CARE Detergent surfactants based on vegetable oils and fats have long been extremely successful products at Evonik. A team from the Personal Care Business Line has now succeeded in making the conventional production process more economical and sustainable. A further plus point: This also allows more highly concentrated products, with more surfactant in less water.

Evonik uses the new process to produce betaines, which are mainly used in shampoos and shower gels, as well as in dishwashing liquid.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: SURFACTANTS

Ralf Klein control gel formation in the second stage. To Multi-faceted grease and dirt remover do this, the developers carefully examined illions of tourists love An indispensable ingredient in shampoos, the gel phase: When does it occur? What the sight of palm trees shower gels, and dishwashing detergents: parameters define it? How can it be selec- on the beach. Coconut cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB). tively influenced? palms and oil palms are even more popular Positive charge Undesired gel phase in industry, where the successfully avoided O demand for coconut and palm oils has been In the tests, the team used a 1 kg labora- —O Mgrowing rapidly for years. That growth is N+ tory reactor with the same energy and set to continue, particularly in the food in- O temperature profiles as the existing com- dustry. The pulp and pits of the fruits con- mercial-scale plants. After two years of ex- Negative charge tain various oils that give many products in periments, simulations, and calculations, both the food and the cosmetics industries the developers understood how the unde- important and indispensable properties. sired gel phase can be avoided under certain Evonik, for example, has been producing conditions. The solution required the pre- amphoteric surfactants—or betaines as they cise control of parameters such as pH value, are also known—primarily from coconut temperature, and mixing ratios. From what oil, for the last 50 years. In that time, co- Hydrophilic part Hydrophobic part was then the conventional process emerged camidopropyl betaine (CAPB) has become a highly automated one in which a process the most important secondary surfactant control system regulated what happened in worldwide. Nowadays, neither shampoos the reactor with pinpoint accuracy. and shower gels nor dishwashing deter- The first product made using the new pro- gents can do without CAPB. cess is TEGO® Betain P 50 C, which Evonik The reason for this lies in the specific first introduced in 2015. The modified pro- properties of betaines. These amphoteric cess allowed the production of more highly compounds are insensitive to water hard- concentrated betaine—and with other raw ness, and even relatively small amounts materials. Instead of time-honored coconut in the formula solubilize large amounts of oil, the amphoteric compound can be pro- grease and dirt. At the same time, they reduced from refined palm kernel oil (PKO). duce the skin irritation often caused by pri- In the past, palm kernel oils were consid- mary surfactants. In many cases, secondary ond stage is exothermal and must be cooled ered waste products of palm oil production, surfactants give the products the required continuously. and are now used primarily in technical viscosity and creaminess in the foam and Despite all optimizations of the pro- industries. The C in the new TEGO® Betain 11 improve handling and use of the products. cess, the second stage used to be the tech- P 50 C stands for sustainably certified PKO. Currently, over 700,000 metric tons of be- nical challenge, because a highly viscous With the growing importance of climate taines are used worldwide each year—about gel phase can develop during the reaction, protection and sustainability, the palm- 70 percent in the area of cosmetics/personal limiting the yield and cost effectiveness based tropical vegetable oil has become a care, and around 20 percent in household of CAPB production. For this reason, only controversial subject: How much does cul- products. The rest go into other technical products with a maximum of 30 percent ac- tivation stress the environment and climate applications, such as bituminous emulsions tive substance content had become estab- by destroying natural virgin forests? for road construction. lished in the past. For this reason, the Roundtable of Sus- Over the course of the various develop- tainable Palm Oil (RSPO), of which Evonik is Growing demand for surfactants ment stages, the addition of diluting agents a member, established a global certification Advanced surfactant formulas are increas- proved beneficial and allowed the manufac- system for palm oil and derivatives in 2004. ingly replacing ordinary soaps, particularly ture of products with as much as 37 percent The Roundtable offers all manufacturers and in regions such as Asia and South America, active substance content. But the different processors along the value-added chain, as where the demand for cosmetic products diluting agents also have negative prop- well as the consumer, the opportunity of is rising along with the standard of living. erties in cosmetic formulations, such as procuring oil exclusively from sustainably In the years ahead, over 40 percent of the clouding, reduced thickening efficiency or certified plantations and mills. worldwide growth in the cosmetics market additional costs. A team from the Personal Besides the environmental advantages will take place in China and Brazil. Care Business Line has now found a way to of TEGO® Betain P 50 C, there are even Evonik is one of the world’s leading sup- Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic: | pliers of betaines. Its portfolio comprises about 30 different betaines, which the Group produces at eight sites around the globe. This gives Evonik an exceptional position, not only for future global development, but also in regional growth markets—for example, through new production plants in Shanghai (China) and in Americana (Brazil), west of São Paulo. Up to now, CAPB has been synthesized in a two-stage process. Refined and hydroge- nated coconut oil is first converted to co- In the years ahead, over 40 percent cosamidoamine at high temperatures in the of the worldwide growth in the presence of dimethylaminopropylamine. The cocosamidoamine is then reacted to be- cosmeticsmarket will take place in

Photography: Jason Verschoor/Getty Images, Evonik, Rolf van Melis Melis van Rolf Evonik, Images, Verschoor/Getty Jason Photography: taine with monochloroacetic acid. This sec- China and Brazil.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: SURFACTANTS

The Expert

Ralf Klein is responsible for the global business activities in- volving basic products in Evonik’s Personal Care Business Line. [email protected]

Around 20 percent of global betaine production goes into household products.

12 more benefits for customers. Higher ac- expensive on the world market than coco- tive ingredient content reduces the amount nut oil. This price advantage cannot be fully of water to be transported—with a corre- realized yet, because the costs for certifi- spondingly positive impact on the carbon cation have to be calculated against it. But footprint and lifecycle analysis. The prod- because the supply as well as the demand ucts are safer to handle, since conventional for certified oil is rising constantly, the raw betaines used to have to be preserved be- material costs will be about 15 percent lower cause of their vulnerability to germs. Highly in the medium term. Over the long term, the concentrated betaines are self-preserving, certification costs will drop so dramatically because germs cannot survive in the lower that the use of certified raw material will no water content (aW value). Additionally, for- longer pose a competitive disadvantage. mulations with TEGO® Betain P 50 C thick- The optimized production process saves timizing products with high added value— en significantly better than comparable time—about five percent—and can be used those that can have a higher concentration formulas based on coconut oil betaines. The in both new and existing plants. The nec- of active ingredients, for example. The new product thus fulfills key customer require- essary conversions are minimal in terms of process also opens up access to regional oils ments for multi-functional products. time and costs. Tests with the new process and fats, such as those made from algae or Most importantly, however, one metric were conducted in the plants in Shanghai forage crops, and can thereby foster greater ton of palm kernel oil is €200 to €300 less (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia). sustainability and use of a broader range of raw materials. Access to regional oils TEGO® Betain P 50 C not only optimized In 2015, Evonik produced the first com- one of the most widely used production pro- mercial quantities of TEGO® Betain P 50 C cesses in the Group but also demonstrated in Essen and Shanghai, and provided them that new paths can be profitable, even in the to prominent international cosmetic com- stable and longstanding raw material busi- panies for suitability tests and studies. The ness. The modified process makes entry into plants in Brazil, the United States, and Indo- sustainable and future-oriented raw ma- Thanks to the high nesia will commence production of TEGO® terials easier for customers. It makes their Betain P 50 C by the end of 2016. The plan business activities in internationally traded concentration of is to replace about 25 percent of traditional commodities more stable and predictable. the new betaine, betaines with the concentrate by 2018. The For Evonik, the globally available new positive feedback from the market justifies raw material palm kernel oil simplifies vol- less water needs to these plans—the first contracts with cos- ume planning and increases product and be transported. The metic companies are in preparation. supply security. The technical edge that was TEGO® Betain P 50 C does not mark the achieved in betaine production consolidates result is an improved end of the current developments on the the Group’s leading role in the highly inno- market. The team continues to work on op- vative and profitable cosmetics market. CO2 balance.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: MEDICAL DEVICES TEMPORARY AIDS TO HEALING In the Medical Devices Project House Evonik researchers are working on materials for higher-performance implants. Bioresorbable, load bearing, and tear-resistant, they will help bones heal and reduce complications arising from stents.

Dr. Andreas Karau

ost bone fractures are no big concern, at least not when the subject is young. For standard fractures, it is enough to immobilize the affected body part for a few weeks with a plaster Mcast. The body self-repairs and new bone material grows in the damaged area, thereby healing the fracture. More serious fractures often require surgery. Nails, screws or plates made of metal are used to reconstruct the bones. These materials keep the bone fragments in place and give the bone sufficient support to withstand a limited amount of stress. The drawback is that these fasteners and plates 13 either remain in the body or have to be sur- gically removed. Ideally, these load bearing implantable devices would be made of materials that can degrade in the body after Suitable biodegradable materials can also If there’s no need to they have served their purpose. improve the treatment options for cardio- remove screws, there’s no Over 20 researchers from Creavis, the vascular applications. Worldwide, more than risk of complications due to a second operation. strategic innovation unit of Evonik, are two million stents are used every year and hard at work in the Medical Devices Project most are made of metal. These remain in the House located in Birmingham (Alabama, vessel permanently and in five percent of the USA) to devise solutions to address such Osteoporosis risk cases, contribute to the formation of blood challenges. As their starting point, they clots (also known as thrombosis). Metal use biodegradable polymers based on poly- stents covered with a biodegradable polymer lactic acid (RESOMER®, RESOMER® Select) 1 in are more recent developments. They con- from Evonik’s Health Care Business Line. every 3 tain an anti-inflammatory substance which Medical device manufacturers are already reduces the risk of future vessel occlusion. women and every 5 producing biodegradable screws, pins, and men over the age of 50 The latest generation stents are completely small plates from these materials. However, will develop osteopo- biodegradable. The first RESOMER®-based they cannot be used for load bearing ap- rosis at some point. stents have just recently entered the market. plications as they are not strong enough to They have to be elastic enough to prevent withstand high forces. To improve the me- rupture during implantation but still need Osteoporosis results in The expert chanical properties of the products, and at to hold the vessel open for several months. the same time, their biocompatibility, the In the Project House, Evonik is working on scientists rely on composite materials that, 8.9 further optimizing the material properties in addition to biodegradable polymers, con- million for these systems with additives. tain inorganic substances such as deriva- bone fractures each Most projects in Birmingham support tives of calcium phosphate. These make the year worldwide. Of- the vision of regenerative medicine: Medical material harder and can also be used to pro- ten, vertebrae or ex- devices made from biodegradable materials tremities are affected. mote the formation of bone material once should provide support for living cells, tissues the polymer gradually degrades. Source: International Osteoporosis or organs for a certain period of time and then Foundation, 2016 Dr. Andreas Karau is Evonik foresees a high demand for such be replaced by the body’s own tissue. In the head of the Medical materials, which bridge the gap between long term, the researchers also want to popu- Devices Project polymer and metal. For instance, Osteo- late a polymer matrix with living cells and so House of Creavis in porosis: Worldwide, more than 8.9 million create real biological implants. These could be Birmingham. bone fractures are attributed to osteoporosis used to restore cartilage or replace damaged andreas.karau

Photography: Uwe Feuerbach, shutterstock (2) shutterstock Feuerbach, Uwe Photography: each year. myocardial cells with healthy ones. @evonik.com

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: NITROGEN FIXATION FERTILIZING WITH WIND Can excess electricity from wind power be utilized to convert atmospheric nitrogen into fertilizer in a climate-friendly process on site? According to the results of the EU project MAPSYN the answer is yes.

NO2

Power

Dr. Jürgen Lang and Dr. Imad Moussallem

n the year 2050, 80 percent of the elec- known and intriguing concept, is the focus tricity used in Germany will be gener- of the partners of the EU project MAPSYN ated by wind power and other renew- (Microwave, Ultrasonic and Plasma-assist- able sources. At least this is the stated ed Syntheses). In their system, one or more intention of the German Federal Gov- wind turbines generate electricity without ernment. The only problem is that the carbon dioxide emissions. The electrici- The idea of MAPSYN: weather-sensitive power supply has to be ty powers a small, compact plant nearby Using electricity from wind Iharmonized with the equally variable de- that produces nitrogen dioxide (NO ) from 2 power in a compact system, mand for electricity. the surrounding air. The NO , in turn, can atmospheric nitrogen is 2 converted by cold plasma How to meet this challenge is currently an be easily converted to nitrogen fertilizer,

into NO2, which in turn open question. One possibility, for example, which is then used to enrich the soil in the is easily converted into is to significantly expand the transmission fields of the region. fertilizer. grid to spatially offset the difference -be tween supply and demand. Another idea is A process with history

to store the electricity in large-scale batter- To obtain nitrogen in the form of NO2 from ies set up locally, near wind parks or house- the air, the scientists in the project rely on hold solar energy systems. a process that basically has been known for Practical use of renewable and temporar- a long time but was forgotten. Its origins ily surplus power on site, a relatively un- can be traced back to 1903, when physicist

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: NITROGEN FIXATION

Effect of key chemicals on the climate Of the 18 quantitatively most important chemicals worldwide, by far the most climate-relevant gases are released in the production of ammonia. Basis: 2010, source: DECHEMA. ) 2eq ) 160 Ammonia 350 2eq 140 Ethylene 300 (MtCO 120 3 250 100 Methanol Propylene 200 80 150 60 Ethylene oxide 100 40 Polyethylene BTX 20 50 Greenhouse gas emissions (MtCO Greenhouse emissions gas Polypropylene Greenhouse gas emissions NHGreenhouse emissions gas 0 0 0 50 000 100 000 150 000 Production volume [kt] Acrylonitrile Caprolactam Cumene Vinyl chloride Ethylene glycol Propylene oxide Phenol Para-xylene Styrene Terephthalic acid

generating electrical arcs. As early as May 1905 the first small factory—it nevertheless employed 100 people—for the production of

NO2 for fertilizer was built in Notodden in southern Norway. A twelve-person com- mission from the French bank Paribas vis- ited the factory in August of the same year. The bank’s managers were fascinated by the technology and placed their trust in Birke- land and Eyde. They invested a considerable sum of money in the construction of anoth- 15 er factory, which was much larger than the first and commenced operation in 1908. Fer- tilizer Economically, however, success was short-lived. In 1913, BASF opened the first fertilizer factory in Ludwigshafen to make atmospheric nitrogen usable in the form of ammonia. It was based on the Haber-Bosch process, which replaced the Birkeland-Ey- de process because of its lower energy con- sumption. In 1926, the Haber-Bosch process required only 4,000 kilowatt hours to chemically bind one metric ton of nitrogen from the atmosphere. This stood in contrast to the 61,000 kilowatt hours required by the electric-arc process. Moreover, the energy for the catalytic high-pressure process ac- Kristian Birkeland conducted the first lab- cording to Haber and Bosch did not have to oratory experiments with an electric arc. come from electricity. Instead, it was pro- 140 An electric arc occurs when high electri- vided by the more cost-effective combus- million metric tons of cal voltage is applied to two metal points tion of natural gas. ammonia are produced or electrodes. The electricity then pass- annually. es through the air and ionizes it, wresting An emissions-free alternative electrons from its molecules. This creates a But today, this is exactly the main disad- plasma—the fourth physical state of matter, vantage of the Haber-Bosch process: For in addition to solid, liquid, and gaseous. each kilogram of ammonia produced, be- In a plasma, the non-reactive nitrogen tween 1.15 and 1.3 kilograms of CO are Process engineers 2 during construction molecules in the air are also activated, so normally released. With annual worldwide of the MAPSYN pilot that they react with the atmospheric oxy- production of about 140 million metric tons plant. gen. Based on the results of his laboratory of ammonia, that means significant emis- experiments, Birkeland worked with elec- sions, which have an impact on the climate. trical engineer Sam Eyde to develop a com- Two additional factors diminish envi- mercial-scale process, the Birkeland-Eyde ronmental performance. The first is that for process. It is no coincidence that both scien- fertilizer production, part of the ammonia tists come from Norway: The country’s hy- is oxidized, which in turn is associated with

Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic: Evonik Photography: dropower was a low-cost energy source for significant 2N O emissions. The second is

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE GLOBAL CHALLENGES: NITROGEN FIXATION

that ammonia is produced in a few enor- mous plants that serve the worldwide mar- Laboratory trials show that energy ket. Consequently, considerable emissions requirements for conversion of are generated again when the fertilizer is shipped to customers. nitrogen are reduced by half compared Against the backdrop of the energy revo- with the traditional process. lution and current climate protection goals, scientists at the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands and at Evonik have reeval- uated the Birkeland-Eyde process for the MAPSYN project. In this work, they have Institute for Fundamental Energy con- The Experts also explored whether the historical process structed ballast units and the generator. One can be improved based on advances in plas- of the things the plant is expected to show is ma technology that have occurred in the that energy efficiency can be improved on meantime. They have already demonstrated the pilot scale as it was in the laboratory. in the laboratory, in fact, that energy con- At the same time, the MAPSYN scien- sumption can be reduced by half. tists—here, primarily researchers from the The key task for the researchers is acti- University of Hull in Great Britain and the vating the nitrogen in cold—in other words, University of Eindhoven—are synthesiz- Dr. Jürgen Lang works non-thermal—plasma. What sets it apart ing and testing new catalysts for the plas- as senior scientist at In- is that in cold plasma the electrons move ma process. Evonik and its project partners novation Management in Evonik´s Process considerably faster than the heavy ionized view this work as an opportunity to further Technology & Engi- and neutral particles. The electrons have a improve energy efficiency and the yield of neering Business Line.

significantly higher temperature—typical- NO2 production. juergen.lang ly at least 10,000 degrees Celsius—than the Such catalysts could make plasma tech- @evonik.com heavy particles, which can be only as warm nology attractive for other commer- as 20 degrees Celsius. Cold plasmas can be cial-scale processes that, up to now, have generated through short, precisely con- to run under high pressure and high tem- trollable high-voltage pulses using special peratures. Currently, the chemical industry switching devices and generators. still considers plasma processes to be rather exotic, even though they have been used Plasma process in a small space successfully in acetylene synthesis in Marl As part of their work, the MAPSYN scien- for over 75 years. Evonik uses them also in 16 tists at Evonik in Hanau have built and com- the production of silicon tetrachloride and Dr. Imad Moussallem, missioned a pilot plant—not on the grounds disilane hexachloride. a Senior Process of the site but in the EcoTrainer (Fig. 3). The Engineer in Process Technology, develops EcoTrainer is a 12 x 3 x 3-meter container new reaction technolo- that contains the entire infrastructure re- gy methods. quired for small-scale production, includ- imad.moussallem ing water and power lines, exhaust air sys- Mobile and @evonik.com tem, process control system, fire-protection modular systems. The EcoTrainer has already proven The cold plasma itself in other EU projects (see elements 53). process is being tested The plasma reactor in the pilot plant was by Evonik in Hanau. developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for The pilot plant is Chemical Technology in Mainz. The Dutch installed in EcoTrainer, a retrofitted mobile container with standard dimensions.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE

CompanyNews

Evonik is acquiring the Specialty & Coating Additives business (Performance Materials Division) of the US company Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. for US$3.8 billion (approx. €3.5 billion).

REINFORCEMENT FOR SPECIALTY ADDITIVES

vonik is strengthening 17 Eits leading position on the high-margin specialty additives market through the acquisition of Air Products’ Specialty & Coating Addi- tives business. The trans- action is to be completed by the end of 2016. Air Products’ Special- ty & Coating Additives The two companies are business will be rapidly highly complementary, integrated into the growth for example in the area segments Nutrition & Care of specialty additives and Resource Efficiency. The for coatings. combined specialty & coating additives business has a turn- over of around €3.5 billion and an attractive EBITDA margin of more than 20 percent. With their products and their strong industrial and institution- strongly, and tion with customers in positions in the key global al cleaning. They target the the market for research and development markets, Evonik and the newly same end customers, but with these additives will grow and outstanding technical acquired business are highly different and complementary far more quickly than overall service. The acquisition will complementary. products. For instance, Evonik demand for chemical prod- allow Evonik to significant- The two businesses serve is a leader in PU foam stabi- ucts. ly strengthen its innovation three particularly attractive, lizers, while the Specialty & Like Evonik, Air Products’ leadership. rapidly growing core markets: Coating Additives business of Specialty & Coating Additives The planned acquisition coating and adhesive additives, Air Products is well positioned business follows a solu- remains subject to formal high-value PU foam additives, in PU foam catalysts. Demand tion-oriented business model approvals from the relevant

Photography: Evonik Photography: and specialty surfactants for for these products is rising driven by intensive interac- antitrust authorities.

Expansion at Membranes ➜ Methionine for shrimps ➜ Actives from plants ➜

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE

CompanyNews

ening its position as a market Expansion for poly- and technology leader. Spe- Professorship for cialty silicones are needed amide 12 powder in numerous industries. As Dr. Stefan Pelzer additives for plastics, specialty vonik plans to build a new r. Stefan Pelzer from the silicones are used for furniture, production line for special Innovation Management E car seats, and mattresses. They D polyamide 12 powder (PA12) in unit of the Animal Nutrition also play an important role Marl (Germany). The new plant, Business Line received the within the formulation of insu- which is scheduled to become title of adjunct professor from lation materials for producing operational in late 2017, will the University of Tübingen. insulation for energy-efficient increase the Group’s existing In 2001, Pelzer decided to refrigerators. They serve as annual capacity for polyamide transfer from the University defoaming agents in industries Gas pipes for gas distribution with 12 powders by 50 percent. of Tübingen to industry but he such as construction, textiles, pressures up to 18 bar can be in- Evonik sells its PA12 pow- remained in close contact with stalled from a roll. and plastics. Specialty silicones ders under the brand name the university researchers. He are also used in coatings and for high-pressure pipelines VESTOSINT®. The powders has been holding regular semi- inks. Markets for specialty sili- and can be exposed to pres- are used, for example, for nars on the subject of the basics cones have grown substantially sures of up to 18 bar. Evonik household appliances such as and application examples of over the past years. has also developed solutions dishwasher baskets, but also industrial biotechnology and for the installation that enable in automotive and medical significant savings of labor and technology production and as installation costs, compared matting and structural agents to steel. Gas utilities can build in coatings. Evonik also an- Expansion of the up their subterranean pipeline ticipates significant increases membrane business networks in a cost-effective in demand in tool-free pro- way without any concern about duction—especially in the 3D vonik will further expand losses in throughput perfor- printing industry. Due to their its Austrian site in Len- E mance. mechanical properties and zing/Schörfling to double the chemical resistance as well as existing production capacities the high melting point of fin- for the hollow-fiber membrane Dr. Stefan Pelzer teaches industrial ished products, PA12 powders modules of its SEPURAN® biotechnology in Tübingen. More capacity are particularly suitable for use brand. The membrane offers a has been publishing scientific in powder-based 3D printing highly selective and efficient for catalysts papers with research col- 18 processes. Fiber composite method for the separation of leagues since 2008. This work vonik has commissioned an gases from gas mixtures such has now been awarded with additional production area as methane, nitrogen, and hy- E the title of adjunct professor. and erected a new building to drogen. The production of ad- An independent committee of house research, development, ditional membrane modules is university professors regarded and scale-up operations for projected to begin in late 2017. his achievements positively, fixed-bed catalysts at its Marl Evonik’s investment will create resulting in the senate giving site. The new building will be over 30 new jobs in Schörfling. its consent to grant him profes- used for operations revolving The gas separation modules sorship. around the continued improve- Air duct part for an engine compart- that Evonik produces in Schör- ment, manufactured by 3D printing. ment of fixed-bed catalysts, fling are primarily intended for which are mostly used in the the biogas market and for hy- materials represent another large-scale continual processes drogen and helium extraction. growth field. Polyamide 12 Award for involved in the manufacture of The new hollow-fiber spinning powders are an ideal matrix for base chemicals. plant will be dedicated to polyamide 12 thermoplastic composites made The new scale-up plant is the production of membrane of fiberglass, carbon fibers, and he Evonik Resource Effi- used for the development of cat- modules, in particular for aramid or steel fibers. ciency Segment received alyst formulas at the laboratory nitrogen extraction. The hollow T the European Plastics Inno- scale. Pilot units are then used fibers consist of polyimide, a vation Award in the “Material for transferring the formulas to high-performance polymer, Innovation” category for its use industrial scale and optimizing that is produced in the near- Specialty silicones of polyamide 12 (PA 12) VEST- them for production. by Lenzing plant and is spun AMID® NRG in high-pressure from China and then further processed in gas pipelines. PlasticsEurope, Schörfling. The infrastructure vonik has started the the Association of Plastics in Lenzing will be expanded as construction of a produc- Manufacturers in Europe, and Methionine source E well. tion facility for organically the Society of Plastics Engi- for shrimps modified specialty silicones in neers (SPE) had organized the Shanghai (China). The project joint award for the first time n Antwerp, Evonik will is part of a global investment in eight different categories. I shortly be starting up the initiative; the first expanded It recognizes companies that world’s first plant for produc- production plant became oper- have attracted public attention ing a new methionine source ational in Essen in late 2014. The with developments in plastics specifically for shrimps and completion of the new facility technology. other crustaceans. Scheduled ® is planned for mid-2017. Polyimide hollow fibers on their way VESTAMID NRG offers an for market launch in mid-2016, With it, Evonik is strength- through the spinning bath. outstanding property profile AQUAVI® Met-Met will be used

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE

CompanyNews

as a feed additive in aquacul- the feed. It becomes available ture. for protein synthesis in the Professorship for The product has been spe- digestive tract of shrimps at cially developed for shrimps the right time and in the right Dr. Georg Oenbrink and crustaceans, which have quantity. r. Georg Oenbrink, head totally different feeding habits Feed trials in many coun- of Innovation Networks & and digestive systems than, for tries have shown that AQUAVI® D Communications in Corporate example, fish. The dipeptide, Met-Met is the most efficient Innovation, has been appointed consisting of two DL-methi- methionine source available for Honorary Professor of the Uni- onine molecules, is not easily shrimps, and thus increases the versity of Applied Science in water-soluble and is therefore efficiency and sustainability of Aachen, Germany. For the past not as quickly washed out of shrimp farming. eight years, Oenbrink has been lecturing at the University of Applied Science on industrial Scandinavian bilberries contain a aspects of plastics technology particularly high amount of antho- and on the management of cyanins. PLANT-BASED innovation and technology. The currants from New Zealand University of Applied Science that has a high anthocyanin has now recognized this vol- ACTIVE INGREDIENTS content. The company manu- untary engagement with the factures the ingredient itself. It Evonik has taken over the startup Alkion Bio- has been available as a dietary pharma SAS, whose headquarters are in Evry supplement under the brand (France). Alkion specializes in the development name Medox® in Scandinavia since 2000. Evonik has dis- of biotechnological active ingredients for the tributed the berry extract since cosmetics industry and was founded as a spinoff 2015 under the name Health- of Imperial College London in 2011. Evonik is berry™ 865. purchasing this company to strengthen its portfolio of specialty active ingredients. The company is now offering its customers highly effective Dual process customized plant-based active ingredients that For eight years Dr. Oenbrink has been lecturing at the University of technology live up to their product claims. Alkion Biopharma 19 SAS is one of the leading manufacturers of bio- Applied Science in Aachen. study program award of an honorary profes- technologically developed cosmetic active ingre- H Georg Agricola in sorship. The collaboration was dients. The company has developed methods for Bochum (Germany) and established in 2008 at the re- T Evonik offer a new, joint dual cultivating plant biomass under laboratory con- quest of Prof. Dr. Thomas Mang, study program. It combines ditions and obtaining biomass extracts with an head of the Applied Polymer Evonik’s chemistry appren- exceptionally high yield of complex ingredients. Sciences degree program. ticeship with a bachelor study The entire process takes place without altering program in process technology the plant genome. at TH and therefore is ideally Acquisition of suited to prepare the students to become engineers. MedPalett The first six apprentic- es started their dual study vonik has acquired the program in the 2015/16 winter company MedPalett AS, E semester. Every year up to ten located in Sandnes (Norway), further students will enter the which specializes in food in- program and benefit from this gredients containing anthocy- perfect mix of practice and anins. The acquisition will help theory. Within the new dual Evonik expand the portfolio of study program, the apprentice- its Health Care Business Line ship at Evonik’s Chemical Park in the area of advanced food in Marl lasts for 3.5 years. The ingredients. cooperative study program at Anthocyanins are known the university lasts for nine se- for their natural antioxidant mesters and runs alongside the properties. Numerous interna- apprenticeship. The courses at tional studies suggest that they the university can be attended have health-promoting prop- full-time or part-time—mean- erties, including the prevention ing the courses and lectures are of cardiovascular disease. also held in the evening and at MedPalett, which previous- the weekends. ly belonged to the Norwegian Alkion cultivates plants under laboratory conditions and Biolink Group, developed a obtains cosmetic active ingredients from biomass. berry extract from wild Scan- Further information: www.evonik.de/ausbildung Photography: Evonik (4), Carsten Behler, fotolia, Uwe Feuerbach Uwe fotolia, Behler, Carsten (4), Evonik Photography: dinavian bilberries and black

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE SOLUTIONS: CATALYSIS COMPETITION FOR RHODIUM Each year, the chemical industry produces more than ten million metric tons of aldehydes from alkenes. It mainly uses rhodium catalysts for this process. Because of rhodium’s rarity and fluctuating price, Evonik, together with partners, has developed alternative catalysts in a publicly funded project.

Prof. Robert Franke and Dr. Dieter Hess

onversion of alkenes with cobalt is much cheaper than the precious Innovations for HydroFormylation) project syngas—a mixture of carbon platinum-group metal rhodium, corre- was launched in 2012. Funded until 2015 monoxide and hydrogen—is sponding catalysts are still competitive, es- with more than €600,000 from the Ger- one of the most important pecially for the production of longer chain man Federal Ministry of Education and commercial methods for cre- aldehydes. With the help of these catalysts, Research, Evonik researchers worked to- ating carbon-carbon bonds the chemical industry produces more than gether with scientists from the team of Prof. (Fig.1). This process, known as hydroformy- 2.5 million metric tons of oxo-products each Matthias Beller from the Leibniz Institute Clation, produces aldehydes, which are then year. However, rhodium is generally used for Catalysis at the University of Rostock 20 used by industry to manufacture products in the hydroformylation process because it such as drugs, surfactants, laundry deter- saves energy and conserves resources. gents, and plasticizers. Consequently, hydroformylation converts inexpensive raw Ten times more expensive materials into valuable intermediates. than gold The process was discovered in 1938 by Consequently, the industry is dependent on Otto Roelen, an employee of Ruhrchemie a precious metal that is subject to incalcu- in Germany. Originally, chemical compa- lable price fluctuations and that is mined nies used homogeneous cobalt catalysts in in very few places, mainly in South Afri- the process. This required a relatively high ca. Only a very small part of the roughly 20 temperature (150 to 180 degrees Celsius) and tons of rhodium that comes on to the market high pressure (200 to 350 bar). The process each year is from other countries—Russia, consumed a lot of energy. Under these con- Zimbabwe, and North America. ditions, apart from the desired aldehyde, At the end of 2015, the precious metal, which a relatively high percentage of secondary is in demand especially by manufactur- products were also produced. ers of catalytic converters for automobiles, In 1965, Geoffrey Wilkinson from the was trading at $650 per troy ounce (about 31

UK reported about the possibility of using grams)—just half the price of gold. However, Spectrum index a rhodium catalyst in the hydroformylation in 2008 the same amount cost $10,000—ten process. This had several advantages over times the price of gold at that time. Similar the established cobalt-based catalysts: The prices are conceivable in the future, as the processes could be conducted under milder market is small but unfathomable conditions, which meant lower energy con- This is why in the long term it makes eco- sumption, and were also more selective in nomic sense to find alternative transition producing the required aldehyde. But since metal catalysts. Also from a scientific aspect, it is exciting to examine the catalytic effect of metals such as iridium, ruthenium, Figure 1. Essential process and iron in hydroformylation. Experts have long believed that these metals are at least The hydroformylation of olefines produces aldehydes, which are needed to manufacture drugs, a thousand times less active than cobalt in surfactants, and plasticizers, for example. terms of their catalytic effect. But the evidence for this is less than satisfactory. There O O H are still many gaps in knowledge in the field of transition metal complexes for hydro- + CO/H + R 2 R H R formylation.

Alkene Syngas Aldehyde To change this, the Proforming (Process C3 Visual Lab Infographic:

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE SOLUTIONS: CATALYSIS

Taking a close look at catalysts Can iridium replace rhodium in hydroformylation? To answer that question, Evonik used FTIR operando spectroscopy. This combines reaction-kinetic and spectroscopic methods and gives insights into structure-effect relationships. On the basis of carbonyl stretching vibrations (1,900 to 2,000 cm-1), the spectrum shows how the balance between two iridium complexes changes if the surplus of PPh3 ligand is increased from 2:1 to 10:1. These measurements provide valuable information on which structure of the iridium complex is especially active and selective.

PPh3 k1

[Hlr(CO)3(PPh3)] [Hlr(CO)2(PPh3)2]

k–1 CO

Absorption [AU]

-1 ] Wave number [cm

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE SOLUTIONS: CATALYSIS

(LIKAT Rostock) and the team of Prof. Arno Behr at Dortmund University—with great success. For example, the scientists found reaction conditions for hydroformylation in which iridium catalysts were just one order of magnitude less active than rhodium catalysts. They initially investigated the behavior of these iridium catalysts over a long period in a mini-plant. In this plant, hydroformylation runs continuously over long periods, similar to large-scale plants. The project partners also developed new catalysts based on ruthenium, which is currently traded at about $40 per ounce. Con- sequently, it is much cheaper than rhodium, for example. The trick with carbon monoxide In the past, the main problem with iridium-catalyzed hydroformylation was that the investigated iridium complexes also catalyze the hydrogenation of the alkenes In Evonik’s autoclave facilities in Marl, catalysts are examined and assessed at pressures well. This produces relatively large quanti- up to 300 bar and temperatures up to 2,000 °C. ties of undesired alkanes. Based on an idea from LIKAT director Matthias Beller, the scientists overcame this difficulty: At room temperature, they put the alkene in a solution containing a pre- Figure 2. Iridium versus rhodium cursor of the iridium catalyst and the inex- Iridium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene compared with rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation: pensive ligand triphenylphosphine. When In contrast to rhodium catalysis, almost no alkene isomerization occurs with iridium. they had filled the autoclave—a special re- 22 action vessel—with pure carbon monoxide, [M] (0,02 Mol %) ()4 they increased the temperature and pres- PPh (0,16 Mol%) 3 CHO H + + 2 sure and introduced the syngas. CO/H (2:1, 20 bar) ()4 2 ()4 ()3 ()3 When they carried out the hydroformy- THF, 120°C lation in this manner, from 1-octene, for 1 h ()2 TOF example, they obtained various nonanals (Fig.2) with a yield of 65 percent. This al- –1 [Ir(cod)(CO)12]: 65% (n/i = 76:24) 2% 19% 163 h (20 h) dehyde mixture consisted of 76 percent linear n-nonanal and 24 percent branched [Rh(cod)(CO) ]: 75% (n/i = 60:40) 21% 3% 1.255 h–1 (3 h) 12 isononanals. Arno Behr, a professor of technical chemistry at Dortmund University (Germany), and his team built a mini-plant (Fig. 3) for continuous iridium-catalyzed hydroformylation. Apart from their dimensions, Figure 3. The mini-plant: Small but meaningful the components of this mini-plant—reactor, mixer, stripper, liquefied gas tank—are the Flow diagram for the mini-plant in which the researchers investigated continuous iridium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene. The setup is similar to that of a pilot plant. same as in a pilot plant. For example, the reactor holds about 0.8 liters, the mixer is 16 centimeters wide and long and is 13.5 cen- CO/H2 control Purge Reactors 1&2 timeters high. Mixer In the mini-plant the scientists convert- Pump P2 1-Pentene, 1-butene, .. ed 1-octene for up to 100 hours. Each hour, about half a liter of solution flowed through N 2 the mini-plant. The scientists thus proved that, in principle, continuous processing is 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane possible. They also tested how efficiently the catalyst could be recycled by means of ex- Settler Stripper Off-gas traction. The result: Per hour, only 0.1 percent of the catalyst was lost for further use. This result is a solid basis for more develop- Pump P1 ments to establish a commercial process. Recycle pump P3 N2 The ruthenium catalyst developed in the 1-Octene Proforming project was also used in the Product Catalyst recycle mini-plant. The results are still being assessed. In the autoclave, this catalyst ex-

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE SOLUTIONS: CATALYSIS

Figure 4. Successful ligand screening In the systematic search for the optimal ligand for the ruthenium-based catalyst system, the imidazoyl-substituted monophosphine ligand L1 showed the highest activity and selectivity.

CO/H2 (60 bar, 1:2)

Ru3(CO)12 (0,033 Mol%), L (0,11 Mol%) R R CHO + Iso-isomers PC, 100 °C, 3 h A B

(R = nC6H13)

N N N N N N N N N N no PCy2 PCy2 PCy2 PCy2 PtBu2 PiPr2 PAd2 PPh2 N N N N N N N N PCy PPh PCy2 ligand O O O O O N 2 N 2 N

O L1: L2: L3: L4: L5: L6: L7: L8: L9 L10 L11: Yield B 79% 79% 75% 77% 0% 76% 0% 69% 37% 62% 0% 0% Ratio n/iso 95:5 95:5 96:4 95:5 – 95:5 – 91:9 97:3 97:3 – –

hibited hydroformylation activity and spective substance is only present in very The experts selectivity that has not been matched by Evonik small concentrations. ruthenium-based systems in the past. now has Eight publications in prestigious journals are further evidence that the Proforming Theoretical chemistry new project was extraordinarily fruitful from a for practical applications options to scientific aspect. Evonik now has new pos- The new catalyst system consists of a three- contend sibilities, secured with three patents, to re- core ruthenium carbonyl complex (Ru3CO12) spond to the scarcity and price fluctuations and an imidazoyl-substituted monophos- of rhodium. However, one of the scientists’ with the Prof. Robert Franke phine ligand. The scientists from Evonik and scarcity dreams could not be fulfilled: namely, es- is head of Hydro- LIKAT found this ligand during their sys- tablishing iron-based catalysts for hydroformylation Innovation 23 tematic search (Fig.4) by also using methods and price formylation. But sometimes dreams just Management in the from computer-aided, theoretical chemis- need more time to become reality. Performance Materials Segment. try. Hydroformylation of 1-octene using the spikes of robert.franke new catalyst delivers nonanals with a yield rhodium. @evonik.com of 79 percent. The nonanal mixture consists of 95 percent linear n-nonanal. The committed collaboration, the complementary competences of the scientific partners, as well as the organizational support by Evonik´s Innovation Agency were the key factors for the success of the Pro- forming project. But there was one other success factor: the high level of expertise of Dr. Dieter Hess is a the Evonik and LIKAT scientists in operan- senior scientist in the do spectroscopy, with which catalysts can Performance Materi- be observed directly doing their job under als Segment, where, actual reaction conditions. among other things, he is responsible for the The reaction solution is pumped through autoclave facilities for steel capillaries that are screwed into the top oxo research. of the autoclave into the measuring cell of [email protected] an infrared (IR) spectrometer. This allows IR spectra to be recorded in second cycles. They continuously map the changing concentration of intermediate stages of the catalyzed reaction. The spectra also show the changes in the catalyst. The scientists used sophisticated computer programs to interpret the spectra. On Photography: Lina Nikelowski, Evonik (2) Evonik Nikelowski, Lina Photography: | the one hand, these programs calculate the structures of possible catalyst complexes and the resulting bands in the IR spectrum. On the other hand, they analyze the mea- More information: M. Beller et al.; Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 10589–10594 sured spectra so that individual substances R. Franke, M. Beller et al.; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 2852–2872 can be read from the complex overlapping A. Behr et al.; Chemical Engineering Science 2016, 144, 364–371

Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic: patterns of the spectra—even when the re- M. Beller et al.; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 14306−14312

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE CORPORATE FORESIGHT: TISSUE ENGINEERING

Among those who could benefit from tissue engineering are children with congenital heart- valve defects because, in contrast to the currently used artificial valves, the tissue from the laboratory grows along with the rest of the body. Heart valves produced in this way have already been tested successfully in sheep.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE CORPORATE FORESIGHT: TISSUE ENGINEERING CORPORATE FORESIGHT: TISSUE ENGINEERING

ORGANS FROM THE LABORATORY Replacement at the press of a button The number of people needing donor research and thus reduce the number organs has been significantly rising of animal tests. It is also conceivable to worldwide for decades while the num- produce synthetic meat from muscle ber of donors and performed surgeries cells and thus reduce factory farming

has remained the same. In Germany and the related CO2 emissions. alone more than 10,000 people are currently waiting for replacement However, there are quite a few obsta- organs. cles to overcome before it will be possible to produce individual replacement Scientists around the world are there- organs at the press of a button or get fore working on making the replace- a synthetic steak for which no slaugh- ment of organs independent of human terhouse was needed: How can the donors. They envision tailor-made living cells be provided with sufficient engineered organs from the laboratory. nutrients and oxygen while the organs From today’s perspective, this can be are being built? Which materials are 25 accomplished by two different meth- suited for making artificial scaffolds for ods of tissue engineering: In the clas- organs? sical approach, living cells are placed on scaffolds of synthetic or biological In the search for answers, Evonik’s tissue—the latter can also originate Corporate Foresight Team has thor- from donor animals such as pigs. In the oughly examined forward-looking tis- second approach, the scientists want to sue engineering approaches. The focus simply print the required organs. Simi- here lies on the growth opportunities lar to 3D printing with polymers, they for the Group and the contribution aim to print the living cells, as well as specialty chemicals can make with re- biocompatible materials such as hydro- spect to this technology—a technology gels, layer upon layer and thus create that could put an end to long waiting the needed organ. lists and save the lives of thousands of people. Furthermore, there are more areas of application for tissue engineering. Hu- man cells from the laboratory can help to accelerate the development of new active ingredients in pharmaceutical Photography: Daniel Cosma/Alamy Stock Photo Stock Cosma/Alamy Daniel Photography:

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE PROFESSIONALS

DR. DANIEL ROST Applied passion For Dr. Daniel Rost the attraction of chemistry lies in what it makes possible, whether in pure academic research or strategic raw-materials procurement in industry. For him it’s always opening up new and exciting fields of activity at Evonik.

hen Dr. Daniel Rost an intern at Schering in Berlin and in the Among the new challenges in the compa- talks about cata- crop-protection division at BASF. He advis- ny was project management: “That was not lysts, atom models, es every student to do this. such a focus for us at the university. But one or carbon chains, To pass on his experience, he also circu- can adapt quickly.” To this end, the team’s his passion is obvi- lates as a contact for junior chemists at ori- work is essential—even if it is not always ous. His chemistry entation sessions. “Whether it’s academics easy for a beginner. “Suddenly, I was no instructor was the one who awakened his or industry, each path has its own justifi- longer responsible for students but for peo- Wenthusiasm for chemical processes in his cation, but also its advantages and disad- ple who, in some cases, had a lot more expe- mid-thirties. Today, he lives out his pas- vantages,” says Rost, an ambassador of his rience than I did and were a lot older than I sion at Evonik. Rost came to the company in field. “At university, for example, the focus was,” says Rost. 2011 as a laboratory manager at Innovation tends to be basic research. Even though this Management in the Animal Nutrition Busi- work is important, I find it more exciting to Indispensable: Curiosity and ness Line. achieve commercial value with my work as communication skills Over the last four years, the primary fo- well,” Rost explains. For a laboratory manager, curiosity and 26 cus of his work has been the petrochemical Nonetheless, after earning his doctor- communication skills are also important synthesis of methionine. The amino acid ate, he decided to stay in academia for one when it comes to contact with other depart- is used in the sustainable nutrition of pigs, more year, working with Prof. David Evans ments such as marketing. There, customers poultry, and fish. A business area steeped in at Harvard University in the United States. ask how stable methionine in fish food is history, methionine was first used as many There, he did postdoctoral work on the syn- in water or how homogeneously the amino as 60 years ago as a food additive and later thesis of antibiotically active tetracyclines. acids can be distributed in the food. “Such as a feed supplement. And this fascinates “And I became familiar with completely questions are then sent back to R&D. So I Rost: “How you can manage to continuous- new methods of working,” adds Rost. “Also, also came in contact with colleagues from ly improve production steps over such a long I had always wanted to go to the States—af- Animal Nutrition, which was a completely period of time is quite remarkable,” he says. ter all, the American Sector in Berlin is new field for me,” says the chemist. Such cost-effective operation was not where I grew up,” he says. Rost’s latest career choice is also a com- something he learned at university. “There, Afterward, in 2011, conditions in the plete change of scene. Since early 2016 he we were more interested in generating el- chemical industry were good, and Rost has been head of Strategic Procurement and egant reactions with a few grams of sub- found a connection to Evonik through a Production Coordination for Bioproducts. stance,” he said. On the industrial scale, op- personal contact from his time as an intern. With this new post, he has gone from R&D erating efficiency and technical feasibility As early as his job interview, he knew this to the beginning of the value-added chain. became extremely important. “Just starting was the right decision: “I really liked the at- It’s a jump into the deep end, but it’s the out as a young chemist, I didn’t understand mosphere at Evonik.” right move for Rost as a chemist with an in- that very well,” he admitted. “I came to the He quickly oriented himself in his new terest in business. “I can also imagine my- company with over 200 name reactions up environment. “In industry, you first have self working in marketing or sales later on. my sleeve and thought, ‘Now I can save the to learn to swim, to understand the com- That depends on a number of things in the world,’” he says. pany. But I was still involved in chemis- company and, of course, my family,” says try research, which I was already familiar Rost, who recently became a father for the Setting course for industry with, and that gave me a feeling of securi- first time. from early on ty.” For example, Rost brought his exper- Whatever the future brings, Rost is sure of Rost began his academic training in his tise in process optimization and worked on one thing: Evonik still offers him many op- home city at the TU Berlin, where he com- alternative synthesis routes. “Having been portunities for advancement. Even the door pleted his degree and doctorate in organic in the methionine business for 60 years, to R&D, where his passion for chemistry be- chemistry. In these years, he developed ru- the company had already considered every gan, will always remain open. thenium-based metathesis catalysts, which possibility,” he says. Also, the molecule is are used in organic synthesis. “I also began extremely small, so there are only a limit- to grapple with natural substance synthe- ed number of ways to assemble it. “And you sis to broaden my knowledge.” As far back always have to keep economic efficiency in as his time at university, Rost knew that mind. A new synthesis route can’t be more he wanted to work in industry later on. He expensive than the established route,” ex-

gathered his first industrial experience as plains Rost. Evonik Photography:

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS

Feed amino acids by fermentation For decades Evonik has been a leader in the production of amino acids for efficient animal nutrition. Except for DL-methionine these are obtained by fermentation. Locally available carbo- hydrate sources at the respective production sites serve as raw materials. For Biolys® (a source of L-lysine) the raw material in the US 27 and Brazil is dextrose from corn. Daniel Rost is responsible for its procurement.

“I find it exciting to achieve commercial value with my work as well.” Dr. Daniel Rost

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE LOCATIONS: SHANGHAI YEAST LABORATORY FOLLOWING THE KNOWLEDGE Evonik built a biolab in Shanghai in 2013. easts and bacteria are a lit- There, for the first time, the company’s tle like humans and amoe- bas: They are at different strategic innovation unit Creavis is studying stages of evolutionary yeast as production organisms. development. Although yeasts and bacteria are both single-cell organisms, bacteria are Yprokaryotes—organisms that lack a cell nucleus—and yeasts are eukaryotes—organisms that have a cell nucleus. Their superior size and complexity compared to bacteria allow yeasts to make more complex molecules than bacteria can. This is why these organisms are so attractive to biotechnology. But designing them in such a way that they create particular desired target molecules requires special skill. Three years ago, Evonik decided to harness the potential of yeasts and develop its own expertise in the production of specialty chemi- 28 cals using these organisms. “China stood out as the obvious location for a yeast laboratory,” says Dr. Markus Pötter, head of the Yeast unit (Greater China) of Creavis’ Science & Technology unit. Evonik obtains large quantities of long-chained diacids from this emerging country, which is already using biotechnological production processes based on yeasts. Continuing to improve these processes and produce higher-quality molecules in the same way are the most important objectives of the biolaboratory. “We don’t produce yeasts; we use yeasts to produce chemicals,” stresses Pötter. Yeast technology: a China strong point An even more important factor in the decision to locate the laboratory in China than proximity to suppliers and customers was the expertise of Chinese researchers in the Among Creavis’ field of yeasts. Scientists at China’s uni- projects in Shanghai versities and research institutes have been is the optimization of a bioprocess for working with yeasts for decades. There, the the production of use of yeast technology to produce long- biosurfactants from chained diacids, which are required for yeasts. the production of specialty polymers, is a well-established industrial process. Their work has produced a number of well-docu- mented strains that display properties such as good growth or desirable metabolic path- ways. Most of these strains are lying unused in the strain collections of the institutes.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE LOCATIONS: SHANGHAI YEAST LABORATORY

In the past, Chinese researchers developed the biomolecular methods and protocols Guest commentary for genetic engineering work on yeasts, because tools from the work on bacteria can seldom be used for yeast cells, which are structured quite differently. China’s years of rigorous work on yeast technologies is Biotech reflected in the professional literature, as many key publications on the subject are by Chinese scientists. In October 2013, Evonik opened the Crea- in China vis biolab in a modern research center in the Xinzhuang Industrial Park, where it occu- pies an area of about 300 square meters. Al- though the work conducted there requires only Chinese Safety Level 1, Evonik has established higher safety standards so that the laboratory can be used accordingly, if necessary. Prof. Yan Feng has held a chair in the Department of Bioscience A fully equipped and Biotechnology at Shanghai biolaboratory Jiao Tong University since 2009. In It is equipped with everything a biotechnol- addition, she is the Deputy Director of the Chinese State Key Laboratory ogist needs, including an area for producing of Microbial Metabolism. media, refrigerators and incubators for the strains, two sterile work areas, and eight one-liter fermenters. Here, researchers can test the fermentation processes simultane- Prof. Yan Feng ously under various conditions. There are already plans to expand the fermentation capacity. odern biotechnology has enabled great advances in Markus Pötter has lived in China with worldwide scientific innovation, and this has ac- his family and built Creavis’ yeast research celerated the process of building a green and sus- program there since 2013. Pötter remembers M 29 tainable society. In the past decade, economic and envi- the biggest hurdles being the language and ronmental factors have prompted the Chinese government the formalities, which are often different from European customs. Even matters that to emphasize the development of biotechnology. A series are taken for granted, such as explaining to of national and regional innovation centers has been es- an installer the precise requirements for the tablished in China. Core scientific research groups have equipment in the laboratory, proved unex- been set up in several universities and academic institutes, pectedly difficult. Pötter received valuable including but not limited to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, support in the beginning from his colleague Dr. Li Li, who as a native speaker was able to Shanghai East China University of Science and Technology, overcome these obstacles. Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Tianjing Uni- And then there were the requirements of versity, Tsinghai University, Zhejiang University, and the biotechnology, which were rather unusual Chinese Academy of Science. compared to chemical syntheses: “It was nearly impossible to order two grams of an- With regard to biocatalysis, these interdisciplinary groups tibiotic for a culture medium. I could have had 40 metric tons of hydrogen peroxide have devised and successfully executed elegant research delivered to the door in two days,” Pötter procedures, ranging from the investigation of enzyme cata- remembers. lytic mechanisms, structural profiles, and rational/irrational The biolab team has grown steadily over design to the optimization of enzyme processes. Enzyme the last two years. It now consists of one applications in the biotransformation process have attracted chemist, one lab technician, as well as four biotechnologists—all native Chinese, ex- the attention of high-tech companies because of their high cept for Pötter. Thus constituted, the team efficiency and environmental friendliness. The fast growth has the expertise, from genetics to product of the industrial enzyme market in China has intensified the preparation, to optimize the yeast process- need for academic-industrial collaboration. At the CAS-Hu- es. Three additional researchers are sched- zhou Industrial Biotechnology Center, the IDEEP project has uled to join the team this year. The team been initiated to market tailor-made enzymes that satisfy has also established partnerships with six Photography: Markus Pötter Markus Photography: | Chinese research institutes to expand its the specific requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. knowledge. Today the strongly competitive companies in China’s en- For the universities, the most important zyme market include Vland Biotech, VTR Bio-Tech, Youtell thing is to be able to publish the results of Biochemical, and SunHY. Most of these companies have their joint research. Evonik accepted this, set up strategic partnerships with academic institutions as is customary in Germany—with the con-

Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic: dition that it be able to patent develop-

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE LOCATIONS: SHANGHAI YEAST LABORATORY

Guest commentary

“We are confident that there will be great breakthroughs in biotechnology in China in the near future.” Prof. Yan Feng

in order to push back the frontiers of knowledge and technology.

In the area of microorganism-based biotechnology, the traditional biofer- mentation industries have achieved great success in China. The current output of Chinese antibiotics, amino acids, and vitamins is one of the world’s highest. For bulk chemicals such as citric acid, China is the world’s top producer and export- Dr. Li Li (left) and Dr. Markus Pötter in the biolab in Shanghai. er. Companies are increasingly realizing the importance of modern biotechnolo- Benefits of yeasts ments ahead of publication, if necessary. gy for bolstering the competence of the as bioreactors “This open approach may be the reason that, bioindustry. Thanks to recombined DNA up to now, we’ve had no problems with in- Compared with and metabolic engineering techniques, bacteria, yeasts offer tellectual property,” says Pötter, dispelling researchers can implement chang- advantages not only a concern that often arises when dealing 30 es on the genetic levels and construct a in handling but also in with China. opportunities: The team has now filed some of its initial well-organized metabolic network that patents and is in the process of preparing increases productivity and lowers costs. others. They come from two successful proj- 1 Moreover, synthetic biology is based on Yeasts grow at low pH ects: the oxidation of alkanes to diacids, and the idea of de novo design and the com- values. This reduces the production of oils with specific chain the risk of contami- lengths and saturation. The group of re- bination of biological functions into in- nation. telligent bioreactors for the synthesis of searchers is also working closely with colleagues from the Nutrition & Care Segment new functional molecules. That enables 2 to optimize a bioprocess for the production the innovative production of high-value The cells are more of biosurfactants, or “sophorolipids,” from chemicals, medicines, and biomaterials. resilient. yeasts (see also p. 4). This cutting-edge technology has al- Flexibility with ready been successfully utilized to yield 3 Unlike bacteria, yeasts raw materials new high-value products in chassis cells, cannot be infected by In the long term, Pötter promises another phages. such as drugs or drug precursors (pseu- benefit from using biotechnological pro- dosugars, natamycin), natural products cesses with yeasts instead of chemical syn- (tanshinone, ginsenosides), and biobased 4 theses: greater flexibility in the selection of chemicals (succinic acid, adipic acid). Because of their size, raw materials. For example, the same fer- yeast cells can be mentation structure can be used with such easily separated by centrifugation. differing carbon sources as petrochemi- Taken together, the biotechnology re- cal-based compounds, waste gas, and sug- search projects working with the scientific ar. The only requirement is the presence of community in both academia and indus- the yeast strain that has been optimized try are necessary and will become a new specifically for the relevant metabolic path- trend in the next five-year plan, which way. The culture collections of the Chinese will efficiently close gaps between labora- research institutes offer a large selection tories and factories. The solid biomanufac- of microorganisms for this purpose. Then, turing foundations in China and successful should the price of a raw material increase, modern biotechnology applications make the process can be quickly converted for use us confident that biotechnology will make with another. Pötter: “With yeasts, we can greater breakthroughs in the near future. take production to the customer—and simply use whatever raw materials are available

there.” Pötter Markus Photography:

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: ENTREPRENEURSHIP WANTED: ENTREPRENEURS! Evonik has sent employees to a boot camp to sharpen their entrepreneurial thinking and further develop their ideas for new projects. They are participating in a competition that will end with the selection of one Who will benefit from the idea, and how? This is the entrepreneur within the company. question to be answered in the boot camp.

ccording to a report, bum- jury will then choose the best project pro- blebees have no ability to posal and one entrepreneur to develop it. fly: Their wings are far too The first lesson of the boot camp is that small to move their plump creativity and technical knowledge are not bodies through the air. But enough to make an innovation out of an in- bumblebees care little about vention. A product can be excellent, fully this kind of speculation—they just fly. An developed, and promising—but without a Aentrepreneur behaves the same way. He ig- market and customers, it is worthless. nores the fact that his idea may not fly and just keeps working on it. “An entrepreneur Who benefits from it? sees and exploits opportunities and takes At the beginning of the boot camp, all of the responsibility. He is passionate and cre- teams defined the value of their ideas. The ative,” said Sebastian Cadell, an innovation Value Proposition Canvas, a tool from stra- consultant at the Danish company Nosco, at tegic corporate planning, helped them with A good idea also needs a good team: Team building Evonik’s boot camp. this task. The emphasis is on the concrete at the start of the three-day boot camp. The boot camp is part of the Global Ide- benefit to the customer: What value and 31 ation Jam that Evonik started in January benefit does the product create, what needs for all employees for the purpose of finding are satisfied with the product, and what On the basis of these values, and with the unusual ideas with the potential for inno- problem does it solve? At the same time, help of the brainstorming tool Business Mo- vation. A jury of experts selected the six the teams also had to identify potential del Canvas, the teams then developed bu- most promising ideas from more than 80 customers: Who is the most important ad- siness models for their ideas. The tool helps ideas submitted through an online commu- dressee for this product, and what services to focus ideas, identify weak points, and nity. The teams behind the ideas, primari- must be offered for marketing it? The teams prepare a basic framework for a business ly young scientists, now have two months used these questions to determine the value plan. In this way, the teams were forced to prepare their ideas for the final round. A of their ideas with a predetermined matrix. to confront the foundational aspects—the most important resources for development, the cost structure for the entire process, the expected profit, and the sales and communication channels. They also had to identify their key partners inside and outside the company. This was a mammoth task, but one that advanced the ideas and showed where work was still needed. The grand -fi nale in June will show who made the best use of the boot camp and developed their idea into a functioning business idea. “With the Global Ideation Jam, we want to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit at Evonik. Each one of you is part of the cultural transformation of a company that is open to innovative thinking and creative ideas,” said Dr. Ulrich Küsthardt, Chief Innovation Officer, at the opening of the boot camp. From online brainstorming and the offline collaboration of the team through boot camp to the final: the process is interactive and open across departmental boundaries. Participants can share their knowledge, provide food for thought, and establish con- Moving toward a business model: One of the six Idea Teams tacts. “They are important multipliers of our

Photography: Mark Ansorg Mark Photography: discusses potential markets and customers. innovation culture,” said Küsthardt.

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO RESEARCH THAT MOVES For Evonik, initiating joint projects with strategic university partners is an important objective. in Essen recently Professors Takuzo Aida and Shigeo Kagami provided impressive proof that the University of Tokyo is a strong partner when they presented their entrepreneurial activities and showed how they taught hydrogels to walk.

three funds of US$250 million pass through our six-month ENTREPRENEURIAL in total), the university also op- entrepreneurship program,” erates as a risk money provider says Kagami. The program SCIENCE that invests in university-relat- also includes a business plan For several years, the University of Tokyo has ed start-ups. A good example is competition. Kagami’s office PeptiDream, whose technology also offers another entrepre- focused on entrepreneurship to promote the is used to selectively construct neurship education program conversion of research results into products. peptide libraries with defined designed for young research- The University has developed a comprehensive properties, and selected as ers, including postdocs and set of tools for this purpose. Prime Minister Prize in Febru- PhD students. In selecting par- 32 ary 2016. Another example is ticipants, Kagami and his team the Cyfuse Biomedical compa- take recommendations from he numbers are not unusu- reason, we also provide con- ny, which develops 3D printing professors when they see that T al for a university: 28,000 tent-related assistance to bring properties for cells and tissues. a graduate has more potential students, nearly 1,300 profes- researchers with their focus on In addition to UTEC, the for a career as an entrepreneur sors, 900 associate professors, specific subject matter and lan- University of Tokyo is also part than as a researcher. and 300 lecturers. But the Uni- guage together with interested of a public-private fund pro- versity of Tokyo is one of the companies.” In fiscal year 2014, gram made up of four leading most productive and success- the University of Tokyo was in- Japanese national universities, ful research institutes in the volved in approximately 1,600 whose objective is also the fi- world. Now it is working on a collaborative research proj- nancial backing of innovations. top position in the commercial ects, most with private-sector As a result of this, the universi- use of innovations. . participation. Within ten years, ty founded another investment Entrepreneurship at the “We’re systematically pro- this figure has doubled—along company as its 100 percent University of Tokyo moting entrepreneurship at our with the project volumes. subsidiary (UTokyo Innovation university,” says Prof. Shigeo In addition to mentoring Platform Co., Ltd.: total fund Kagami, general manager of and coaching for scientists, as size is US$400 million). 600 inventions per the Office of Innovation and well as maintaining a busi- But this is not all—the year succeed at the Entrepreneurship at the Jap- ness incubator, through its university is also committed University of Tokyo. anese University. The reason venture capital arm dedicated to training scientists to be is that today innovation is no to the university (University entrepreneurs. “Each year, 250 longer a clearly structured of Tokyo Edge Capital, UTEC: about 200 to 250 students university start-ups field with sharp dividing lines. have originated at Instead, it requires the kind the University of Tokyo. of thought and action that is found in the triangle of university, university spin-offs, and US$650 million are available industry. to the venture- Kagami’s office sees itself as capital arm of the a mediator between companies university. and research institutes. “For an outsider, it’s often not readily apparent which of the university’s faculties are relevant for chemistry, for example,” explains Kagami. “For this

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

The University of Tokyo visits Essen: Prof. Takuzo Aida (left), a renowned researcher, and Prof. Shigeo Kagami, General Manager of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

33 Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic:

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

Like an artificial muscle Temperature-dependent contraction and expansion bring the hydrogel into motion, thanks to the L shape.

25°C 45°C 25°C

10 mm

5 mm Centroid Centroid Centroid

Back foot Forefoot Back foot Forefoot Back foot Forefoot

Distance Distance Distance

Original size of the hydrogel Steady movement The distance between forefoot and back foot varies by about 25 °C two millimeters between 25 and 45°C.

25 °C 45 °C 25 °C 45 °C 25 °C 45 °C 25 °C 45 °C 25 °C 25° 45° 25° 45° 25° 45° 25° 45° 25° 45 °C 12

10 25 °C 25° 45° 25° 45° 25° 45° 25° 45° 25° [mm] 12

45 °C Distance 10

34 6 25 °C 8

Mobile hydrogel 146 Position [mm] The hydrogel, which contains about 98 percent water, covers a distance of around 6 millimeters in just 27 minutes. Photographically recorded 1225 °C 45 °C 25 °C 45 °C 25 °C 45 °C 25 °C 45 °C 25 °C That the hydrogel L 14 “walks” when subjected to cyclic temperature 10 changes is due to the embedded nanosheets. 12 Their spacing changes with temperature and 8 Forefoot spatial direction. 10 Adapted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: 6 Takata, M. & Aida, T., Nature Mat. 14, 1002 8 (2015), copyright 2015) Centroid 4 6 Position [mm] Position

2 4

0 2 Back foot –2 0 200 400 600 800 1.000 1.200 1.400 1.600 0

–2 0 200 400 600 800 1.000 1.200 1.400 1.600 Time [sec]

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

evenly in the aqueous solu- ture changes—the material HOW HYDROGELS tion. After the addition of a contracts or expands again,” dendrimer-based binder, the explained the scientist. “With LEARNED TO WALK nanosheets crosslink with an L-shaped hydrogel in which The University of Tokyo also holds a leading position each other and a 3D network is the nanosheets are correctly created—a transparent, dimen- positioned this sequence of in international university rankings with its research sionally stable hydrogel with contractions and expansions in chemistry and material sciences. Prof. Takuzo high mechanical stability,” can be transformed into a lin- Aida and his working group help contribute to this says Aida. ear movement.” international renown. One of his specialties is soft Over the past year, his In other words, the hydrogel materials that react to external stimuli. For example, working group together with L “walks” because of the cycli- other researchers demonstrat- cal temperature fluctuation. he has taught hydrogels to walk. ed that hydrogels can even be used to create actuators that can be moved by changing the temperature. The hydrogel they used is based on a poly- isopropyl acrylate that is water ere is what a productive re- tist and his team have worked soluble at room temperature H search life probably looks particularly hard with hydro- but coagulates above 32 °C and like: more than 280 scientific gels. “Our hydrogels consist of is then insoluble. Dipole-dipole publications, including nearly about 98 percent water, with a interactions are responsible for 30 in Nature and Science, about small mass fraction of mineral this behavior: At low tempera- 70 patents, and 20 research material and another order of tures, hydrogen bonds form. awards. Takuzo Aida (59), pro- magnitude lower percentage of The bonds hold the polymer in fessor in the Faculty for Chem- organic components,” ex- solution but become increas- Strategic univer- istry and Biotechnology of the plained Aida. In research, these ingly weaker as the tempera- sity partners University of Tokyo’s School kinds of hydrogels have be- ture rises. of Engineering, focuses his come known as an interesting This polymer-based hy- Evonik currently main- research on three topics: soft approach to reducing our de- drogel also contains titanate tains seven strategic materials, macromolecules that pendence on petroleum-based nanosheets, which the re- partnerships with universities: the Universi- are inspired by biology, as well polymer materials. searchers align with a magnet- ty of Duisburg-Essen, as molecular and biomolecular Aida and his colleagues first ic field during the production of the University of machines. Aida is a good ex- demonstrated the unusual the hydrogel and thus create a Tokyo, the University 35 ample of why Evonik agreed to properties hydrogels could regular layered structure. The of Minnesota in the United States, the a strategic partnership with the have about six years ago when mechanical properties of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Tokyo about two they developed a hydrogel that hydrogel are based largely on University in China, years ago: The internationally can be manufactured fast and the anisotropy of the electro- the research institute acclaimed scientist is setting easily. “Even a beginner can do static repulsion between the A*Star (Agency for benchmarks in the research of it,” stressed Aida. To produce nanosheets. Orthogonally to Science, Technology and Research) in Sin- new materials. this hydrogel, the scientists the nanosheets, the hydrogel gapore, the Technical As part of the colloqui- mixed sodium polyacrylate is hard to compress. Parallel to University of Munich, um of the Society of German in water with commercially the nanosheets, on the other and King Abdullah Uni- Chemists at Evonik in Essen, available mineral nanosheets. hand, it is easy to compress. versity of Science and Technology in Saudi Aida provided insight into his These 2D nanostructures The trick that makes an Arabia. research on soft materials that initially stuck together. But be- actuator out of this hydrogel is react to external stimuli. These cause their positively charged the temperature dependence. can be very different types of peripheral areas interact with “The separation between stimuli, such as changes in the anionic sodium polyacry- the nanosheets changes so More information Infographic: Adapted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature Materials 14, 1002–1007 (2015) doi:10.1038/nmat4363 1002–1007 (2015) 14, Materials Nature Macmillan Publishers Ltd: from permission by Adapted Infographic: C3 Visual Lab 2015, 08 January 26 June 2015 Published online 10 August 2015 Accepted Received light or temperature. The scien- late, they spread themselves quickly when the tempera- on the hydrogel: Thermoresponsive Actuation Enabled by Permittivity Switching in an Electrostatically Anisotropic Hydrogel. Nature Mat. 2015, 14, 1002–1007. “We can pack the electrostatic repulsion between nanosheets in a hydrogel and put it to practical use.” Prof. Takuzo Aida

Video: Hydrogel artificial muscle walks https://youtu.be/ XzfAvKWRKjY

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: INNOVATION MANAGEMENT BREAK OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE! Prof. Dr. Sabine Kuester teaches and researches at the interface between innovation and marketing. In the new “Horizonte [Horizons]” lecture series of Evonik Nutrition & Care, the Director of Mannheim University’s Institute for Market-Oriented Management described how innovation is systematically becoming bolder and more successful.

here are two sides to inno- have no idea what they are lacking—or at for existing markets—or so-called “core vation: a technology side and least are unable to describe it. The demand innovations.” But there should also be in- a market side. Clearly, the is latent but not obvious. “Who would have novation in adjacent markets and customer most sophisticated and pow- expressed the desire for a computer mouse segments, and ultimately, transformation- erful technology is worth lit- before it was invented,” said Kuester. al innovation resulting in completely new tle to an inventor when there Moreover, when it comes to pathbreaking inventions (“New to the world”), explained are no customer needs for it to satisfy. Prof. innovations, the opportunities lie “outside Kuester, with reference to the innovation TKuester’s lecture focused on how research the comfort zone of companies.” They lie, types defined by Nagji and Tuff (Fig. 1). can orient itself more systematically to mar- in fact, in the areas the company knows “On average, companies invest 70% of ket conditions—that is, customer needs. little or nothing about, which means proj- their resources in core innovations, 20% in “Ultimately,” as event coordinator Dr. Walter ects are clouded with uncertainty. Without adjacent markets and customer segments, Pfefferle, head of new business development doubt, the main focus of innovation invest- and only 10% in transformational innova- at Nutrition & Care, put it, “for the purpose of ment should be refining existing products tions. Interestingly enough, the numbers directing funds to the right projects.” run exactly opposite when we look at return 36 The task, then, is to identify the ideas on investment. Here, the ratio is 10:20:70,” that have potential markets from the mul- says Kuester. The three types of innovation titude of ideas that are constantly arising. The main difficulty is that customers often Innovations are classified by how close Completely new products they are to the company’s core business. make more profit The most profitable are genuine novelties The return on investment primarily comes— (after Nagji and Tuff, 2012). albeit somewhat delayed—from completely new products and markets. For Nespres- so, for example, it took 20 years from patent registration to break-even. Still, every company can draw motivation from this example to orient itself to the search for the Transformational unfamiliar new markets. Developing breakthroughs and Kuester showed how this approach can inventing things for markets succeed by citing the example of Procter & that do not exist yet Gamble. At the end of the 1990s, the company set itself the goal of becoming a growth factory. So it redirected research expendi- tures and made targeted improvements to its structures and mindsets. Creativity work- shops and specially appointed employees Adjacent ensured a supportive innovation climate. Expanding from existing Restructuring and clear documentation, as business into “new to the well as communication of innovation pro- company” business cesses and methods gave the business units the tools they needed to develop completely new products. The approach was a success: Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of Procter & Gamble’s innovations that reached profit and revenue targets rose from 15 to 50 Core percent. There were successful new devel- Optimizing existing products for existing opments for emerging markets (such as a customers product for water purification), and there were completely new business models (such as the franchise-based dry cleaning con-

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE INNOVATION & CULTURE: INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

cept Tide Dry Cleaner in the United States). In this connection, Kuester noted that for the development of successful innovations, the entire value chain should always be part of the equation. It is not only the direct customers who are important but also the indi- rect customers. Slaughtering sacred cows To break out of their comfort zone and develop completely new ideas, a company’s employees need, more than anything else, the right mentality. Often, our mentality and, therefore, our thinking is limited by unconscious assumptions, said Kuester. It is necessary to slaughter a few sacred cows, such as the conviction that “We know what is occurring in the market and what our customers want.” Prof. Dr. Sabine Recognizing assumptions and, above all, Kuester has held the questioning those assumptions is a prereq- Chair for Marketing & Innovation at the Uni- uisite for thinking creatively in companies. particular market is based. A company can The 3-C analysis versity of Mannheim Often, however, creativity is hampered use its own value curve to compare itself to since winter semester by structural or cultural circumstances. The goal: competitors. The value curve approach can 2005/2006. There, Kuester then provided some approaches and Identification of new be used to develop “blue ocean strategies,” she is also vice dean of the Department suggestions for promoting creativity and, market opportunities which help to open up new markets. The re- (source: Urbany and of Business Adminis- therefore, innovation. At the very top of Davis, 2007). sults obtained with this method sometimes tration and scientific her list is: “Allow employees to experiment; seem to be produced in a miraculous way, director of the Institute for Market-Oriented don’t punish failure, learn from it.” Company but in reality they come from a disciplined Established thinking patterns should analysis and understanding of the market Management. Competitive Her primary areas of advantage also be questioned, as should bureaucratic situation, says Kuester. research and teaching structures. Rewards for good ideas, team- Kuester cited Lycra as an example of a are marketing strategy, work, good exchange of information, an Customerneeds systematic implementation of a blue ocean innovation marketing, Customer marketing manage- open discussion culture, and a democrat- invention. Up until the late 1980s, growth 37 needs ment, and international ic strategy process are among the recom- was slow for sales of the elastic synthetic Customer Competition marketing. mended resources. Naturally, innovation fiber elastane developed by DuPont. After Kuester studied at the projects must also be guided by economic the launch of the Lycra brand and expansion The method: University of Cologne principles, and for the innovative process Consider customer of market activities to the sport and leisure and earned her doctor- in companies, employees must be able to needs, competitors’ segment, elastane became an extremely ate at the London Busi- “think ambidextrously”—which means the activities, and a com- profitable business, with a return on invest- ness School. Previous- ly, she held professorial ability to implement both incremental and pany’s own expertise ment of over 20 percent and a global market as a single integrated positions at the ESSEC revolutionary changes. whole. share of 70 percent in 2004. (France), New York Kuester presented several methods that “You need a product that generates value University (USA), and Vienna University of can help to more systematically recognize Customer for the end customer and you have to work latent customer needs and focus on them Company needs the entire value chain,” stressed Kuester. Economics and Busi- ness Administration strategically. These include the three circle A DuPont achieved this by addressing the end (Austria). analysis developed by Urbany and Davis, E G consumer directly and integrating clothing B which integrates the analysis of company, D C manufacturers, designers, and retailers into

customers, and competitors. In this analy- F the innovation activities. The disciplined sis one circle represents how customers per- scrutiny and understanding of customer ceive the own company’s offerings. Another Competitor needs were the basis for the success of this circle depicts the customers’ needs. The last strategy. The result: circle represents how customers perceive Latent customer needs Her overall message: “Complement your the offerings of the company’s key compet- and new markets be- technical expertise with skills in recog- itor(s). If these circles are shown as a Venn come visible in area G. nizing latent customer needs, and create diagram (Fig. 2) the resulting seven areas a culture that doesn’t stifle innovation but are all of strategic importance. “Area A are promotes it.” clearly where the company’s advantages are, but Area G is the most exciting are because it represents desirable latent customer needs and untapped markets,” said Kuester. The method is therefore well suited to devel- Photography: Evonik Photography: | oping differentiation strategies but also to identify areas for future growth. Analysis instead of magic The value curves by Kim and Mauborgne are another diagnostic tool. Their model maps

Infographic: C3 Visual Lab Infographic: the key factors on which competition in a

ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE WISHLIST

Prof. Martyn Poliakoff (68) is a British chemist and expert in supercritical fluids with a focus on green chemistry. He teaches and researches at the University of Nottingham. Sir Martyn has received several awards and is Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society. In 2015 he was knighted by the Queen for services to chemical sciences. He has become a popular figure outside his field of work through his Periodic Videos, which have been appearing on YouTube since 2008 and have now registered over 130 million views. Periodic Videos: www.periodicvideos.com

WHAT I HOPE FOR FROM SCIENCE Sir Martyn Poliakoff SCIENCE HAS TO BE FUN! I wish that science could be more fun for more people. When science is fun, scientists think laterally and become more creative. Science used to be fun but, sadly, I think that the recent focus on metrics and impact across the world have removed much of the excitement from research. Indeed, some scientists now consider good metrics as being one of the most important outcomes of their research.

Of course scientists should use taxpayers’ money responsibly and explain why they are doing their research. But the pendulum has swung too far. Funders want to back winners, but nobody can predict which piece of research will turn out to be truly transformational.

Scientists need space for imagination and exploration, and without that space, we are in danger of stifling creativity. Funders and universities need to realize that the major output of most research is new generations of innovative scientists, trained to provide the scientific infrastructure that underpins modern society. Removing the fun produces people who regard science as just another job. Bringing the fun back will provide the enthusiasm and new thinking needed to address the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.

ELEMENTSELEMENTS #000 #55 DAS THE INNOVATIONSMAGAZIN EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE VON EVONIK RECOMMENDED READING

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NONFICTION BOOKS Publication Manager on industries of the future, life’s complexity, and success in business Urs Schnabel Consulting and Concept Manfred Bissinger

Editor in Chief Dr. Karin Aßmann (responsible) karin.assmann @evonik.com Annette Locher annette.locher @evonik.com Contributing Editors Dr. Frank Frick Christa Friedl Björn Lohmann Unpredictable: In transition: Better planned: Ulrike Schnyder Dorothea Stampfer Life Industries Careers Björn Theis Michael Vogel s life the result of rigorous e advised Hillary Clinton on or a long time now, it has been I thought and strategic planning? H innovation when she was the F the case that just as many Managing Editor Far from it! Why life is far too United States Secretary of State, women as men graduate with a Dr. Sebastian Kaiser complex to bring under control is and he traveled the world multiple degree in the natural sciences. For the topic of the latest book by Vince times in this role. Alec Ross is one the most part, the challenge on Editorial Consulting Tom Rademacher Ebert. He sums it up this way: We of the most prolific international the career highway is encountered Dr. Edda Schulze 39 can all do the right thing—and innovation experts. Early this year, later, when it comes to mastering Dr. Petra Thorbrietz still be wrong. And conversely, he published a New York Times a career entry or balancing career some people do almost everything bestseller on the industries of the and family. Karin Bodewitz, An- Scientific Advisory Board wrong by objective criteria and are future. He examines the specific drea Hauk, and Philipp Gramlich Dr. Felix Müller still highly successful. Coincidence fields that will most shape our eco- accompanied women working in Dr. Friedrich Georg is the gray area of life, according nomic future, for example comput- natural science during their career Schmidt to this cabaret artist with a degree er security and the commercial- decision-making and wrote a ca- Dr. Joachim Venzmer in physics. For instance, tesa tape ization of genomics, and describes reer guide that also contains a lot of Picture Editing was originally supposed to have the international consequences of valuable advice for men. and Layout been an adhesive bandage. This and disruption—how emerging coun- C3 Creative Code and other examples in: tries can develop their own Silicon Karin Bodewits, Andrea Hauk, Content GmbH Valley, for example. Philipp Gramlich, Vince Ebert, Karriereführer für Agency Unberechenbar: Warum das Leben zu Naturwissenschaftlerinnen. BISSINGER[+] GmbH Alec Ross, Erfolgreich im Berufsleben Medien und komplex ist, um es perfekt zu planen The Industries of the Future Rowohlt, Reinbek 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim 2015 Kommunikation Simon & Schuster, New York 2016 An der Alster 1 20099 Hamburg [email protected] Printing Griebsch & Rochol Druck GmbH, Oberhausen

Copyright © 2016 by Evonik Industries AG, Essen. Reprinting only with THE COVER #55 the permission of the agency. The content About 15 million metric tons of surfactants are used does not necessarily annually all over the world, and growing prosperity reflect the opinion of is giving more and more people access to mod- the publisher. ern cleansing and body care products. Evonik has developed new surfactants for this attractive growth Contact market—biosurfactants with outstanding cleansing [email protected] properties that are especially environmentally friendly and gentle to the skin, as well as betaines that can now be produced more cost-effectively thanks to an

Photography: Anne-Katrin (3) PR Purkiss, Photography: optimized process.

ELEMENTS #000 DAS INNOVATIONSMAGAZIN VON EVONIK ELEMENTS #55 THE EVONIK INNOVATION MAGAZINE