Page 177 - CW E-Magazine (26-12-2023)

BASF Research Press Conference BASF Research Press Conference

BANKING ON RESEARCH from regional and national govern- energy is required during production
ments for this water electrolysis facility and paving,” said Dr. Wiebelhaus.
BASF emphasises sustainability focus of research activi- in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The faci-
lity is scheduled to produce up to 8,000- The use of ‘B2Last’ also enables a
ties; continues to grow sales of R&D-driven products tpa of green hydrogen starting in 2025. larger proportion of reclaimed asphalt
(recycled asphalt) to be added to the
esearch work at the world larg- BASF employs around 10,000 ‘TripleS’ method that will make its pro- “It is important that in the chemical asphalt mixture. “Our additive makes
est chemicals company, BASF, employees in R&D and in 2022 invested duct portfolio even more aligned with industry which has high emissions, we it possible for the asphalt mix plants to
Ris being driven with the aim of about €2.5-bn in R&D with plans to climate protection, resource effi ciency need low-emission or emissions-free take back the old granular asphalt and
supporting the sustainable transforma- continue spending a similar amount in and the circular economy. The ‘BASF hydrogen. With this future hydrogen then crosslink with our bitumen. So,
tion of society and ensuring optimal 2023 and 2024. Report 2023’, which will be published output we will be able to make pro- B2Last opens up the gate into a true cir-
use of limited resources. And this is in February next year, will specify the ducts with a reduced carbon footprint cular economy,” he said. “This reduces
yielding rich dividends, according to Dr. Maas-Brunner noted that BASF proportion of sales generated in each of and we can supply our cracker with this the total amount of energy, resources
Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner, member is actively making signifi cant contri- these fi ve categories. The company will hydrogen and we can make sure that we Dr. Dag Wiebelhaus and CO emissions that would be
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of the Board of Executive Directors bution to the sustainable transformation set a new goal for the share of sales to become more CO neutral,” she said. The additive – a reactive system associated with the production of new
and Chief Techno-logy Offi cer of the of society by offering sustainable pro- be generated with products in the two 2 based on isocyanates – crosslinks the asphalt mixture.”
German conglo-merate. ducts & solutions while also “working highest categories (Pioneer and Con- Dr. Maas-Brunner also spoke about individual components of bitumen
fl at out on transforming our own pro- tributor). “With TripleS we are trans- the work being done at the company on to create a polymeric network. This Reducing aerodynamic drag
cesses and activities to make them even parently measuring the sustainability of “enablers for R&D activities” including improves the elastic properties of the The nature-inspired solution for
more sustainable.” “Our global target as our activities and how we are improv- digitalisation and automation, besides bitumen, giving the road longer dura- lowering friction resistance in air was
a chemical company is to be net zero in ing,” said Dr. Maas-Brunner. its focus on toxicology (for developing bility and improved crack resistance – the theme of the presentation by Dr.
terms of emissions by 2050,” she added. alternatives to end animal studies), at high and low temperatures. Sebastian Hartwig, Head of Functional
Partnerships development synthesis and application Films, BASF. Lower friction is vital in
Making sustainability transparent Later, Dr. Maas-Brunner highlighted of new catalysts to improve processes. “Use of the new additive also leads air transportation as it helps reduce fuel
To support its customers on the the crucial role of partnerships in driv- to a 65 percent reduction in bitumen consumption and therefore CO emis-
journey to greater sustainability, BASF ing its research agenda. “In the past 12 During the conference, BASF emissions during road construction sions. 2
has co-developed an internation- months we have entered into around 400 experts made detailed presentations on because the paving can be done at lower
ally recognised method that it uses to new agreements with academic partners. fi ve innovative products and techno- temperatures. In addition, the BASF Researchers from BASF and
continuously evaluate its product port- Through these alliances we are simulta- logies, using which customers from a additive contributes to reducing CO Lufthansa Technik studied the skin of a
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folio: Sustainable Solution Steering, neously pursuing around 215 projects in variety of industries can better reach their emissions because roads need to be shark, which has tiny ridges on its sur-
also known as TripleS. different fi elds,” she revealed. sustainability goals. These included a paved less often and because less face that reduce drag when the shark
fermentation process for making the
“Our portfolio valuation methods Giving an example of a fruitful world’s fi rst probiotic containing bacteria
Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner are becoming increasingly sophisti- partnership, she spoke about the work found on human skin; self-learning
“In recent years, the company cated and evolving to meet the require- done with the California Research software for precision herbicide spray-
has continuously increased its sales ments of the world which are growing. Alliance (CARA) under which the com- ing; and an isocyanate that enhances
generated with products launched With TripleS, we analyse the sustain- pany partnered with UC Berkeley and the durability of roads and cuts the
on the market in the past fi ve years ability contribution of our products. Stanford University on two catalyst- energy required to make asphalt.
that stemmed from R&D activities; The aim is to increase the share of supported applications – cracking
they rose to around €12-bn in 2022. innovative and sustainable products ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen; and Bitumen additive for better roads
The company’s innovation power is and this applies to our entire portfolio. water electrolysis to produce CO -free Dr. Dag Wiebelhaus, Head of
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also refl ected in the more than 1,000 We have around 45,000 products in our hydrogen. “The amount of the precious Global Product Innovation Monomers
patent applications fi led last year, mak- portfolio and we classify them into fi ve metals required can be reduced with at BASF, showcased ‘B2Last’ (Bitu-
ing BASF a leader in the industry once categories: Pioneer, Contributor, Stan- the help of high-entropy alloys made men to Last), an innovative bitumen
again. I am particularly happy that 40 dard, Monitored and Challenged.” of fi ve or more metallic elements,” she additive developed in partnership with
percent of these patents are inventions explained. RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
with a particular focus on sustainability If products are found to have a The additive is said to reduce the
and a further 20 percent are related to considerable defi cit in terms of sus- Another alliance showcased by amount of energy required to make
digitalisation,” she said while speaking tainability (Challenged), BASF takes Dr. Maas-Brunner was the one with Sie- asphalt (and thus lower CO emissions)
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at the company’s Research Press Con- them off the market within fi ve years. mens Energy for a water electrolyser. while enhancing the durability of the
ference held in Germany recently. In 2023, BASF launched a revised BASF had recently secured $134-mn paving material. Bitumen additive B2Last

176 Chemical Weekly December 26, 2023 Chemical Weekly December 26, 2023 177

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