elements 43, issue 2 | 2013 - evonik...

CosmetiCs

Sphingolipids as a natural fountain of youthiNNoVAtioN mANAGemeNt

Innovation according to planProCess teChNoloGy & eNGiNeeriNG

Smart chemistry on a small scale

elements43Quarterly Science Newsletter Issue 2|2013

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CoVer PiCture

The question of what makes innovation flourish is the subject of several articles in this edition

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4 Memorandum signed for Biolys® plant in Russia 4 New joint venture for a sodium cyanide plant in Mexico 5 New production facility for silane-modified polymers 5 PETRONAS and Evonik Industries plan strategic partnership in Malaysia

CosmetiCs

6 Sphingolipids as a natural fountain of youth

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11 Evonik invests in Emerald Cleantech Fund III 11 A new reference work for UV matting

iNNoVAtioN mANAGemeNt

12 Innovation according to plan: How to open as many doors to success as possible for as many ideas as possible

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19 VESTAKEEP® PEEK receives first FDA approval 19 TAICROS® cross-linking additive gives chemical resistance to coatings

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20 Intensifying Evonik’s innovative power

AGroChemiCAls

22 Custom manufacturing: Flexibly meeting customer demands

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27 New skin care line by STOKO® Professional Skin Care 27 VESTAMELT®: Hybrid component to be mass-produced

ProCess teChNoloGy & eNGiNeeriNG

28 Smart chemistry on a small scale

iNNoVAtioN mANAGemeNt

34 Knowledge exchange via social media: Successful online brainstorming

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38 Evonik Birmingham Laboratories earns cGMP certification 38 CyPlus successfully certified 39 New tapir house designed for romping

39 Credits

elements43 Issue 2|2013

2 CoNteNts

Borussia Dortmund

Patrik WohlhauserMember of the Executive Board,Evonik Industries AG

They became German champions twice in a row, qualified for the Champions League three times in a row, and in a dual against Real Madrid became one of the top-two soccer teams in Europe. Over the last few years, Borussia Dortmund has gone through an incredible development and has achieved a solid standing in premier soccer—both in Germany and around the world.

The BVB has been a success story because the coach, the club manager, and the players follow the same strategy. Each member of the team clearly knows what his job is and performs it with enthusiasm. The managers, and especially the coach, have assembled a formidable young team. They had the savvy to promote their junior players and have been circumspect in recruiting talent. The quality of the team was fantastic in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Although they almost lost against Málaga, they never gave up, kept on fighting, and scored their way to a dramatic finish in the semi-finals.

It may very well be that soccer and specialty chemistry have nothing in common with each other, yet we can still draw parallels between them. In the specialty chem-icals business, success means team success, too, to which research and development, application technology, management, sales and distribution, marketing, and many more each contribute their share. In this regard, it doesn’t matter who set up the goal and who scored it, or whether an innovation was initiated by the R&D depart-ment or by Sales. At the end of the day, it’s the result that counts.

To get there, you often have to take risks. This includes the hazard of missing the goal, when the ball is sent flying off into the distance. It is a bit like a project that fails. In a successful team, what counts is the will to win. Just look at Borussia Dortmund. If you know that you’re allowed to miss a shot once in a while, you won’t be discouraged about it, but will instead try to seize the next opportunity that comes around. As for innovation, of course, acquisitions play a role, too. They are the ones who make it possible to enter highly promising technologies and new businesses.

As in soccer, a leading team therefore also has a vital role to play when it comes to innovation. They have to draw upon individual strengths, but also bond the team together, provide incentives and motivate others, make the tried-and-true stronger, and replace the obsolete with new methods. They have to set clear goals and be prepared to change, if need be, no matter how uncomfortable it is to do so.

That’s exactly what we’d like to achieve with our Leading Innovation Initiative, which we started in the fall of 2012. Peter Nagler, our Chief Innovation Officer, talks about the initiative in this issue (p. 20). Our goal: We want to be the most innovative company in the world. Or to keep the analogy: The Leading Innovation Initiative is intended to be for Evonik what the BVB’s club manager and coach are to the players—a motivator who creates ideal conditions and leads the team to the top.


3editoriAl

Memorandum signed for Biolys® plant in RussiaEvonik and Russia’s Rostov Region govern-ment have reaffirmed their cooperation. A memorandum of understanding was signed in the presence of Ilse Aigner, the German Minister of Agriculture; Nicolai Federov, her Russian counterpart; and Patrik Wohlhauser, member of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG. The objective is to establish a Biolys® production facility in Volgodonsk through the joint venture OOO DonBioTech. The operative partners of the joint venture are Evonik Industries AG, as a minority share-holder, and the Russian Varshavsky Group.

In its new Biolys® plant, the joint venture will use Evonik fermentation technology to produce L-lysine. Biolys® is considered a high-ly effective source of lysine in animal feeds

for pigs and poultry. The new facility is to become operational in 2014 and will have an annual capacity of approximately 100,000 metric tons of Biolys®. Wheat grown in the Rostov Region is the raw material that the joint venture will process.

Governor Golubev has contractually guar-anteed his full support for the joint venture. Dr. Reiner Beste, head of the Health & Nutrition Business Unit, and Vladimir Kudrya-shov, the executive director of the OOO Don-BioTech joint venture, also signed the contract.

“The new Biolys® plant is a windfall for our region and the city of Volgodonsk,” Golubev said. “It will create about 200 pro-fessional-level jobs and will make wheat a more valuable commodity in the region. The

Biolys® produced in the plant will support efficient and sustainable pork production in Russia and contribute to meeting the demand for meat in that country, too.”

The new facility allows Evonik to secure the supply of raw materials for the new Biolys® plant, to back-integrate itself, and thus to cover a larger part of the value-adding chain. “This is highly essential for positioning Evonik in the important Russian market,” emphasized Wohlhauser.

New joint venture for a sodium cyanide plant in Mexico

Grupo Idesa S.A de C.V. (Mexico) and CyPlus GmbH (Germany), a 100-percent subsidiary of Evonik Industries AG, are close to signing a joint venture agreement for the construc-tion of a sodium cyanide plant in Coatzaco-alcos (Mexico). Equipped with Evonik’s state-of-the-art technologies and with a production capacity of 40,000 metric tons, the planned facility is expected to go onstream in the first quarter of 2015.

Mexico’s economy has been growing steadily over recent years and the mining industry in particular is expected to continue to experience excellent growth rates. The gold and silver mining industry is the world’s main cyanide consumer. Sodium cyanide is

the most efficient and cost-effective agent for the extraction of these metals. The joint ven-ture’s new sodium cyanide plant will support the growth of the mining industry by provid-ing reliable supplies.

The Mexican plant will be certified according to the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC). With this Code the gold mining industry, cyanide producers, and logistics companies around the world commit to high and uniform standards in safe-ty and environmental protection regarding the use and handling of cyanides.

German Minister of Agriculture Ilse Aigner (standing, third from left) witnessing the signing of the memorandum between Evonik and the Rostov Region in Russia

Sodium cyanide is the most efficient and cost-effective agent for the extraction of gold and silver


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cations in construction, transport, and assembly. The new technol-ogy also offers the opportunity to open up completely new applica-tion areas.

The Consumer Specialties Business Unit of Evonik has many years of experience with the use of additives for the construction, adhe-sives, and plastics industry. Thanks to its specialized know-how and continuous technology improvements, Evonik is a valuable and reli-able partner for a number of industries.

New production facility for silane-modified polymers Evonik Industries plans to produce a new class of silane-modified polymers at its Essen site in the 2nd quarter 2013. The new product line will be sold under the brand name TEGOPAC®. TEGOPAC® rep-resents a new and flexible technology platform for silane-modified polymers. Among other applications, these eco-friendly products serve as binders for a number of adhesives and sealants.

“With this innovative technology developed by Evonik, polymer structures can be individually configured in accordance with applica-tion requirements,” explains Dr. Sabine Giessler-Blank, the head of Inno vation Management of the Interface & Performance Business Line.

Formulators of high-quality sealants and adhesives appreciate the TEGOPAC® Product Line for its high variability with regard to tensile strength, elasticity, and the adjustment of the adhesion forces. Thanks to the option to manufacture formulations that are free of isocyanates and methanol, the new technology is also an eco-friendly alternative to conventional products.

The combination with the existing Polymer ST product portfolio of Evonik Hanse GmbH, which was acquired in 2011 (former hanse chemie AG), offers customers a broad property spectrum for appli-

PETRONAS and Evonik plan strategic partnership in Malaysia Germany-based Evonik Industries and Kuala Lumpur-based PETRONAS are planning a joint project in Malaysia. To this end, Dr. Dahai Yu, Evonik Executive Board member, and Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Downstream Business at PETRONAS, signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in January this year.

The potential joint venture aims to build a production platform in Pengerang, Malaysia. Under the LOI, PETRONAS and Evonik plan to build a new site within PETRONAS’ Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) in Pengerang in the state of Johor. The plants are expected to have the capacity to produce 250,000 metric tons of hydrogen peroxide, 220,000 metric tons of isononanol and 110,000 metric tons of 1-butene annually. The hydrogen perox-ide will be used on-site to produce propylene oxide by the licensed, eco-friendly HPPO process Evonik had jointly developed with ThyssenKrupp Uhde. These projects are expected to come onstream in 2016.

“The entire project is set to mark another milestone in our growth strategy in the Asian market,” said Executive Board member Dr. Dahai Yu. “This is why we’re seeking for a strong long-term strategic part-ner like PETRONAS.”

The oxo-alcohol INA is a precursor of the plasticizer DINP (diisononyl phthalate), which is used in soft PVC production. The most important markets and end applications are films, wallpapers, and floorings, in addition to cables and automotive applications. 1-butene is used as a comonomer for production of the plastic poly-ethylene. The most important growth regions for 1-butene are China, South-East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Hydrogen peroxide is used as a bleaching agent in the paper and textile industries and for eco-friendly oxidation and disinfection.

Shared joy for Evonik’s and PETRONAS’ signatories to the Letter of Intent for a strategic partnership in Malaysia, including Evonik’s CEO Dr. Klaus Engel (second from left) and Executive Board member Dr. Dahai Yu (left)

TEGOPAC® is used in the productionof high-quality adhesives and sealants


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6 CosmetiCs

Most people would like to be dynamic and young-looking⎯even as they grow older. Because the life expec-tancy of people in industrial nations is rising, antiaging products are in great demand. In answer to this trend, the experts in the Consumer Spe - cial ties Business Unit design and cus-tomize potent active ingredients. Skin-identical sphingolipids in parti-cular hold great promise.

[ text Dr. Mike Farwick ]

Sphingolipids as a natural foun -tain of youth

these dAys, PerhAPs the old saying “You’re only as old as you feel,” should be changed to “You’re only as old as you look.” Firm, smooth skin is essential to looking young, but not every-one wants to undergo an operation or receive injections, not to mention face any of the risks that go with it. A much gentler solution would be to use creams, lotions, and tinctures contain-ing ingredients that slow down the aging process or reduce its symptoms.

All you have to do is look at the store shelves. Today’s cos-metic industry has many different care products in answer to the antiaging trend. For its formulations, it must have active chemical ingredients with functionalities customized to meet the needs of aging skin. Evonik’s Consumer Specialties Business Unit has been developing efficient active ingredients for the anti-aging products of producers in Germany and abroad for many years. The focus is on substances with proven effects and effi-ciency that are based on natural raw materials or substances that are skin-identical.

Skin ages not only on the surfaceHuman skin is a complex organ consisting of different layers, each fulfilling very specific tasks. When skin ages, this affects virtually all layers and cell types: The epidermis becomes thin-ner, the strength of the connective tissues fades, and the skin loses elasticity and moisture. Natural regeneration becomes slower, the supply of nutrients deteriorates, the interlocking be-tween the epidermis and the subcutaneous tissue decreases. Skin aging is only partly attributable to genetics; various external factors, such as UV radiation, smoking, and nutrition, also play a large role.

Antiaging is not a trivial task. If you’re concerned with skin and its aging, you need deep insight: What endogenous sub-stances change as our skin ages? What active ingredients can slow down the aging process or lessen the symptoms? Do sub-stances exist that stimulate cell regeneration? And what poten-tial does cosmetic research have for future innovative active in-gredients?

One of the secrets of young, firm, unlined skin is its lipids. In particular, these include the membrane-forming lipids that have a hydrophobic and hydrophilic part. Because of their amphi philic properties, the molecules are able to arrange themselves into compact and stable double layers, which, on the one hand, firmly bond moisture and, on the other, shield cells against damaging external influences. 333


7CosmetiCs

Sphingolipids safeguard the skin’s barrier functionSphingolipids play an especially important role in human skin. They are long-chain molecules from an unsaturated amino alco-hol and a fatty acid bonded via an amide group. Ceramides are a sub-class of sphingolipids. They consist of a sphingoid base (an amino alcohol with variable chain length) and a covalent bonded fatty acid. There are different types of ceramides, depending on the type of base and the chain length of the fatty acid. Some of these are important components of the outer, protective horny layer of our skin, the just 20- to 50-micrometer-thick stratum corneum.

The stratum corneum (fig. 1) contains protein-rich corneo-cytes that lack nuclei, embedded in a lipid-rich, water-repellent matrix. In addition to cholesterol and free fatty acids, the matrix contains about 50 percent different ceramides, which are orga-nized in double layers and have a significant influence on the barrier function of the corneal layer. Investigations with elec-tron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry have shown that the structure of the ceramide double layers follows a sophisticated body plan of crystalline and liquid phases. This biological bar-rier works reliably against penetrating foreign substances, but, at the same time, is sufficiently permeable to ensure a good water balance.

As we grow older, the sphingolipid content in the stratum corneum diminishes (table 1). For example, between the ages of 20 and 50, the skin on our hands loses more than one-third of its cera mides, while our facial skin loses almost two-thirds. The molecular barrier becomes thinner and more permeable, the thickly packed lamellar bodies begin to break up. The skin loses

part of its protective effect and is unable to bond as much mois-ture as before. Apparently, as we grow older, the epidermis cells especially no longer produce long-chain ceramide types, or at least not sufficient quantities of them.

Climatic influences also play a role in terms of ceramide content: In the winter, people have just half the amount of ceramides that they do in summer. Also, the equilibrium and function of the lipids can be disrupted regardless of age or climate, and this has a negative effect on moisture balance and enzyme activity. It causes dry skin, even pathological symptoms such as derma-toses, neurodermatitis or psoriasis.

Evonik customizes skin-identical active ingredients for the cosmetic industryThe importance of sphingolipids as the skin’s own fountain of youth has been known at Evonik for some time. The company sees itself as a leader in the development and production of sphingolipids with the stereochemical structure that is found naturally in our skin.

Table 1

Ceramide level

100 %78 %63 %

100 %62 %37 %

Age

21–30 years31–40 years41–50 years

21–30 years31–40 years41–50 years

The ceramide content of the skin diminishes considerably as we grow older

Hands

Face

Figure 1Lipids, which form a type of mortar layer between the cor-neocytes, are very important for the barrier function of the stra-tum corneum, the outer, pro-tective horny layer of our skin

Intercellular lipids S. corneum thickness Corneocyte size Filaggrin/NMF amount


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Sphingolipids are potent antiaging active ingredients because they increase the skin’s lipid content and can repair damaged barriers. These days, thanks to biotechnological processes, pure, skin-identical substances are accessible for the cosmetic indus-try. At the end of the 1990s, the former Goldschmidt AG acquired the Dutch company Cosmoferm and with it a patented fermen-tation process to produce a biological precursor for sphingolip-ids. In addition to the product-driven development work in the Consumer Specialties Business Unit, part of the process-relevant research work was carried out in Creavis’ ProFerm Project House and, from 2007, this was continued by the Biotechnology Science-to-Business (S2B) Center.

The main role is played by a yeast called Wickerhamomyces ciferrii (previously known as Pichia ciferrii). The genetically unmodified yeast cells produce tetraacetyl phytosphingosine (TAPS) in large fermenters. TAPS is isolated from the fermenta-tion broth, converted to phytosphingosine through hydrolysis, and is then chemically coupled with the respective fatty acid to form ceramide. In the future, there will be a biotechnological alternative to the chemical process. Evonik has developed an en-zymatic process for coupling the base and fatty acid. It saves en-ergy, generates less waste, and dispenses with chemical solvents.

For the skeleton of the ceramide, the phytosphingosine, bio-technology is already the method of choice: Since the molecule has three optically active carbon atoms, theoretically there are eight different possible stereoisomers (fig. 2). But only one spe-cific form is found in human skin. While chemical syntheses pro-duce a mixture of all eight variants, the yeast cells synthesize exactly the isomer that corresponds to the natural form.

Expansion of the product portfolio requires in-depth knowledgeThis fact has been known for some time, but it was only a few years ago that the biological processes in the cells of Wicker-hamomyces ciferrii could be explained. In cooperation with the Biotechnology S2B and several universities and through funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, a team from the Consumer Specialties Business Unit examined the yeast in detail. The genome was sequenced and the complex enzymatic synthesis process was deciphered. In addition, in col-laboration with universities, the Evonik scientists used metabolic engineering to examine the general synthesis potential of vari-ous strains of Wickerhamomyces ciferrii.

For several years, the team has been working intensively and systematically investigating the specific properties of the indi-vidual ceramides. We now know that the chain length, the bond strength between the lipids, the content of the individual cera-mide types, and the physical properties of the lipid formations all play an important role as regards the physical appearance of our skin. Besides, generally it is only skin-identical ceramides that produce the optimum effect. Experiments on cell cultures have proven that variants with a stereochemistry deviating from the natural pattern could actually destroy the structure of the mo-lecular barrier of the horny layer.

Evonik now has a range of different, skin-identical ceramides that it produces on a large scale. The individual types differ in terms of their effects and areas of application. Ceramides NP, AP, and EOP, for example, promote skin regeneration, increase its moisture content, or normalize scaling. The portfolio also in-cludes mixtures of different ceramides and other skin 333

Figure 2Phytosphingosine can exist in eight different stereoisomers. Evonik customizes the nature-identical form through bio-technological produc-tion

Skin-identical ceramide NP


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constituents that are especially easy to use and have multi-purpose effects. In particular, mixtures with cholesterol and free fatty acids revitalize the barrier function of the horny layer and exhibit especially good bioavailability.

Whether single substance or mixture,⎯every candidate is sub-jected to a wide range of analytical processes and numerous in vitro and in vivo experiments in the Consumer Specialties labo-ratories. For example, with the help of X-ray diffractometry, we verify whether it is a skin-compatible variant or not. Extensive tests on cell cultures, such as DNA chip, protein, and lipid anal-yses to measure biological effects, are used to provide evidence of effect and compatibility. In addition to this, application tests are carried out with voluntary subjects to demonstrate the cos-metic efficacy.

Sphingolipids also have signal propertiesJust recently scientists discovered that sphingolipids not only counteract aging processes on the surface, but also in the deeper layers of skin. For example, in the dermis of older skin fewer collagens are formed but, at the same time, the level of certain proteases rises. Both destabilize the structure of the dermis and reduce its elasticity. Excessive UV radiation has a similar effect. Investigations have shown that molecules of sphingolipids and salicylic acid counteract this. These “designer sphingolipids” promote the synthesis of procollagens in fibro-blasts and strengthen the bonds between the skin layers. In this way, they repair photodamaged tissue and stimulate skin re-generation. Lines are softened and the surface of the skin ap-pears smoother.

Sphingokines®, representatives of a new generation of anti-aging active ingredients, are also very promising. Sphingokines® are molecules that regulate the growth and differentiation of cells. In a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Ed-ucation and Research, in vivo and in vitro experiments were

carried out to investigate how tailored sphingolipids could pos-itively influence the biochemical communication processes of the skin.

For instance, a mixture of Sphingokines®, ceramides, choles-terol, and a skin-identical fatty acid was tested over several weeks on volunteers 35 to 65 years of age. The analyses show that, in older skin in particular, enzymes that are responsible for the formation of lipid barriers and the activity of the keratino-cytes are stimulated. The result: In the volunteers, the moisture content and elasticity of their skin increased. These promising results demonstrate the enormous potential of mixtures with new combinations of active ingredients in the antiaging market.

Ceramides are demanding in terms of handling and formulationAs an expert for custom solutions, Evonik not only delivers the cosmetic active ingredients, but also the required expertise for handling them optimally. Many endogenous active ingredients—including ceramides—are demanding in terms of handling and formulation. Ceramides, for example, have a strong tendency to recrystallize outside the cell and must therefore be stabilized in a special gel consisting of emulsifier and waxes. The more complex the mixture, the greater are the challenges of getting all the ingredients for the skin into the best available form— an important requirement for them to work as they are supposed to.

For this reason, the developers work closely and intensively with their customers to find optimum solutions, mixtures, and formulations of cosmetic ingredients. They give customers advice in handling substances and mixtures thereof, and test the stability and compatibility of various formulations. After all, in many cases, knowledge of the physical-chemical properties of highly potent active ingredients is just as important as the development and production of the substances.

Demand for antiaging products is growing strongly, and the customers’ and consumers’ demands and expectations of cosmetic products are rising. As a result, the skin experts in Consumer Specialties are continuously working on new active ingredients and solutions for their customers. 777

dr. mike Farwick is responsible for Innovation Management Active Ingredients in the Consumer Specialties Business Unit. After studying biology and earning his doctor’s degree at Düsseldorf University in Germany, he joined Degussa in Halle-Künsebeck as Laboratory Manager New Technologies in 1998. In 2003, he joined Goldschmidt AG in Essen as Group Leader Active Ingredient Development. He has been in his present position since 2006. phone +49 201 173 2351, [email protected]

Voluntary subjects help test new cosmetic active ingredients. Here, skin moisture is measured

Sphingokine® NP, which Evonik launched in 2012, exhibits several positive effects: It firms the skin, improves the skin structure, and smooths out wrinkle depth. Before application (top) and twelve weeks after application (below)

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Paint formulators are faced with a range of challenges: In order to achieve a satisfactory matte finish, they have to compensate for in-sufficient vertical film shrinkage by employ-ing suitable mechanisms for roughening the paint surface. Evonik experts describe how the right particle size for the matting agent, which corresponds to the thickness of the paint layer, is selected. An alternate approach is to magnify the polymerization shrinkage of the paint, which is caused by free radical polymerization of the double bonds in the acrylate oligomers and monomers. It is im-portant here to make sure that the matting agent matrix, which consists of silica particles that are evenly distributed within the liquid paint, does not shrink as much upon curing as the surrounding binder matrix.

The Silica Business Line of the Evonik Industries’ Inorganic Materials Business Unit sells products for the coatings market, pri-marily from the two brands AEROSIL® and ACEMATT®. AEROSIL® fumed oxides con-tain additives for rheology control for paint formulations. ACEMATT® offers a compre-hensive product portfolio of silica-based matting agents.

Evonik invests in Emerald Cleantech Fund IIIEvonik Industries strengthens its Corporate Venturing activities with an investment in the Cleantech Fund III of Emerald Technology Ven tures, headquartered in Zurich (Switzer-land). Emerald invests in early and expansion stage companies in the energy, water, and materials sectors with particular focus on Europe and North America. Through the in-vestment in Emerald, Evonik gains access to innovative start-up companies with disruptive technologies in new materials and specialty chemicals including energy technologies and resource efficiency. Evonik Corporate Ven-turing plans to invest up to €100 million in promising start-up companies with break-through technologies and leading specialized venture capital funds.

“With our investment in Emerald, we have a strong partner with a proven track record and with immediate relevance to our own business activities,” explained Dr. Bern-

A new reference work for UV mattingIn order to support our customers and keep them as informed as possible, Evonik Indus-tries is now offering a new compendium en-titled “Matting for UV-Curing Paints.” Using tables and many easy-to-understand dia-grams and illustrations, the matting experts provide formulators in the coatings industry with a practical reference guide.

Traditional paint systems with volatile components, such as water-based and sol-vent-based UV-curing paints, can be given

a light matte finish through evaporation of the solvent (vertical film shrinkage). Creating a matte finish is difficult for solvent-free paints and for paints that are cured up to 100 percent by UV radiation. The new com-pendium shows readers how selecting suit-able matting agents, using sophisticated paint formulations, and selectively controlling curing and system parameters can all have a significant impact on the matte grade of a coating.

hard Mohr, Head of Evonik Corporate Ven-turing. By partnering with innovative start-up companies Evonik can accelerate the devel-opment of new businesses and open up future growth fields.

The young technology companies in turn benefit from relationships with multinational players such as Evonik in terms of quick tech-nology adoption, joint development of prod-ucts and services, and international market access.

Investments in specialized Venture Capital Funds in addition to direct investments are an important part of the Evonik strategy to cover the most important technologies and regions worldwide. In 2012 Evonik invested in the High-Tech Gründerfonds II, Germany’s lead-ing cross-industry seed-stage investor and the North-American Pangaea Ventures Fund III, which is focused on new materials and specialty chemicals.

Matted coatings for furniture and parquet flooring are typical applications for the ACEMATT® matting agents


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Evonik’s innovation pipeline currently comprises over 500 projects, and they are as diverse as the markets the specialty chemicals company serves. This variety is created by innovation strategies aligned to the relevant business activities. Idea-to-Profit (I2P®)—an integrated, custom-designed innovation process that aids practical implementation of the innovation strategy—manages innovations and brings them to market as successfully as possible.

[ text Dr. Walter Meon, Dr. Felix Müller ]

Innovation according to planHow to open as many doors to success as possible for as many ideas as possible


12 iNNoVAtioN mANAGemeNt

For eVoNik, As a specialty chemicals company, innovation is one of the most important drivers for sustainable and profitable growth. Innovation leads to solutions (products, applications, processes) that retain their value, and this is exactly what large cus-tomers that have a close partnership with the company particularly expect. Companies that leave inno vation to chance cannot survive in the long term. This is why Evonik’s Innovation Management works with an in-novation strategy aligned to the relevant markets, along with a customized innovations process that pre-cisely implements the strategy and manages the oper-ative part of the project—from idea generation, through laboratory tests, market and application analyses, pilot phases, and finally to the market launch.

The development of the innovation strategy be-gins with the question of what innovation should ac-tually achieve for the business in the future. The “in-novation business case” provides an answer. It maps the business strategy: the path a unit (with all con-straints that contain a projection over such a long period of time) will take in order to achieve its goals within the next ten years and how much income an operative unit will achieve with innovations over these ten years. The objective for the future earn-ings contribution from the innovation pipeline is de-rived from this business case.

The innovation business case comprises four seg-ments. The base segment describes the estimated trend in business erosion for the hypothetical case that research and development are discontinued.

Both middle segments consist of the projected earnings contributions of the current product port-folios, the projected earnings contributions of cus-

tomer-specific projects or process improvements, and the projected earnings contributions of current stra-tegic research projects.

The fourth segment is the gap that usually has to be filled by future projects to achieve reasonable, growth-based business development. The benefit of the innovation business case lies in making the gap

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Innovation business case clarifies the value of innovation

quantifiable and, therefore, understandable. It also forms the quantitative bridge between middle- and long-term growth objectives and the more short-term questions of operative budget planning.

A schematic example of this type of analysis is shown in fig. 1. In this example, the first years corre-spond to mid-term planning, while the last years are the most plausible possible estimate.

Typically, projects in the current innovation pipe-line make a key contribution to sustainable earnings in two to ten years, depending on the business model and innovation cycle of the customer’s industry. The existing product portfolio, on the other hand, loses value over the years, especially if the products de-velop into commodities or are replaced by new prod-uct developments. As a rule, its contribution to earn-ings falls sharply if it is not replaced and if its value is not conserved by incremental innovation.

Figure 1 Innovation business case: schematic example

Are there enough innovation projects to fill the mid- to long-term target? What is the target?

What is the contribution of the existing innovation pipeline?

What innovation effort is required to maintain the busi-ness?

What happens to the business if we do not put any further innovation effort into it?

Profit

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022


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Fig. 1 clearly shows the special importance that innovations hold for corporate development. The key challenge for each operative unit—this can be a prod-uct line or business line—is in permanently ensuring replacement in the innovation pipeline, and filling the gap between the current project portfolio and tar-geted growth with sustainable projects.

This is why, based on its specific innovation busi-ness case, which describes the goal, the next step is for the operative unit to define its specific innovation strategy. Ideally, this task begins with defining the

the market side and describe the relevant part of a target industry for Evonik, such as the automobile or cosmetics industry, with the corporate strategy serv-ing as the basis. Here, Evonik emphasizes the mega-trends of health, nutrition, globalization, and re-source efficiency, and reflects these with the relevant trends in the customers’ industries, which are ulti-mately crucial to the company’s future business.

The search fields thus form the strategic filter that aligns all the innovation activities of the company. Properly chosen, they normally result in good ideas, which end up becoming innovation projects. The pro-cess clarifies what expertise has to be expanded or newly developed in the next few years, and what share of the business results have to be invested in innovation.

These components—corporate strategy, the inno-vation business case, the search fields, the expertise needed now and in the future—are the cornerstones of the innovation strategy (fig. 2). They define the decision-making framework, within which the op-erative units, the strategic research unit Creavis, and the engineering unit advance the development of their portfolio and innovation projects.

Once the innovation strategy is defined and ideas are found for promising projects, practical implemen-tation—the actual innovation process—begins. To manage this process, the predecessor companies of Evonik Industries AG more or less installed complex project management systems over ten years ago. They are based on the Stage Gate® process developed by

Figure 2Promoting innovation skills through effective innovation management: a targeted innovation strategy—implemented by an effective innovation process—is the basis for ensuring long-term profitable growth. Chemical companies often benefit from an innovation ten years or more after the market launch because they can use this new platform to continuously increase the know-how position compared to competition. Ultimately, the strategy ensures that the right ideas for achiev-ing the innovation goal can be initiated and identified. To convert these ideas into concrete projects on the market as efficiently and success-fully as possible, Evonik uses the internally developed Idea-to-Profit (I2P®) process based on Stage Gate®

The innovation strategy relies on the business strategy

market segments for innovations: What does the mar-ket need in the next few years? Can I make an essen-tial contribution to this? And am I well-positioned for this? These are the questions the unit has to confront first.

To this end, market research is used to identify and prioritize “Innovation Search Fields,” which stand out for their attractive business potential and whose commercial potential is tapped in the medium and long term by strategic and incremental innova-tion projects. The Innovation Search Fields reflect

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BU/BL/PL business strategy* Innovation

strategy

Organization, culture, enabler I2P® process

Innovation business case

Innovation search fields

Competence development

Innovation portfolio goals

Market/ customer: discovery

Idea/project manage -

ment

Market/ customer:

launch

* Of a business unit, a business line, a product line, Creavis, or Process Technology & Engineering



At Evonik, the innovation process comprises the steps of idea generation, evaluation and selection, product and process development, including the development of new business models, and the professional market launch of the new developments. To make this pro-cess transparent and manageable, Evonik has devel-oped a new holistically oriented innovation process that covers both the innovation strategy and labora-tory work—the I2P® process. The name stands for Idea-to-Profit, and symbolizes the path from the idea, through the research project and market launch, to

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Practical implementation needs a flexible system

Prof. Robert Cooper in the United States: an idea phase follows a project phase, and a phase of transfer to operations, up to market launch of the product. In each phase, the project participants must prove, at a clearly defined point—the “gate”—that they have achieved the relevant goals. If necessary, counter-measures are taken.

This concept simulates uniform gates and has proven itself in companies with projects that are highly complex but are similar and little in number. A good example is the automobile industry. Experi-ence at Evonik, however, shows that an excessively rigid process quickly reaches its limits if not only the projects but the project portfolio are extremely com-plex—if small, fast projects as well as extremely large projects designed for the long term need to be man-aged simultaneously and as efficiently as possible. The number of required gates adapted to each business need, as well as the custom-tailored sets of criteria for the gates, provide assistance to this end.

From the standpoint of the Group, however, it also has to be possible to assess the entire project port-folio and manage it from a broad overview. Given Evonik’s diverse business activities, this is quite a challenge.

I2P® also contains gates where it says: Go or kill

market success (fig. 3). It also contains gates that require the decision to “go or kill.” The criteria on which the decisions at these gates are made are derived from the relevant innovation strategy.

On the one hand, I2P® allows the researchers to practically manage the operative phases of a project, from idea to product launch. On the other hand, it supplies all the functions that the normally inter-disciplinary and preferably international innovation team from R&D, Marketing, and Sales need to be able to regularly review decisions about the inno-



vation portfolio. This way, the projects can be handled quickly and efficiently, and, at the same time, are very well documented. The process is handled with special I2P® software that IT experts from Evonik developed especially for it.

Originally started as a pilot project in the Con-sumer Specialties Business Unit, I2P® is now best practice at Evonik and, therefore, a Group standard as of 2007—with just a few exceptions, the innovation process will be adopted consistently throughout the Group. This decision was based on the efficiency of the process and its software, which was proven in an evaluation as part of the PROVE process, which Evonik uses to harmonize its IT. In addition, each em-ployee now has a direct way to submit ideas for new projects on the Intranet by using a simple tool.

The I2P® process begins with an idea derived from a search field or from the needs of the market. Ideas come from a variety of sources—the trigger could be an observation in the laboratory, a conversation with

a customer, a change in legislation, or a newly avail-able raw material. In addition to these traditional sources, advanced, IT-supported processes for brain-storming are gaining increasing importance. These include crowd sourcing on the Internet and ideation jams in the internal scientific community. Evonik In-dustries has used these methods since 2012 for inte-grating additional knowledge and experience into the idea generation process.

Each idea, no matter the source, is promptly eval-uated by an interdisciplinary team—often in consulta-tion with the person who submitted the idea—and reviewed for its validity. For these purposes, the I2P® system offers the opportunity of accelerated rank-ings (a ranking with a special evaluation of com-pletely different success factors, depending on the business) to find the most valuable ideas and give them preferential treatment. If the evaluation team thinks an idea is good, a business case is drafted for it in preparation for Gate 3. Behind this lies a simpli-fied business calculation of what value or what profit can be generated from the product or process effect generated from the idea in the next ten years.

Beginning with the second year, however, this method no longer considers the full value, but a value reduced by the theoretical cost of capital (NPV, net present value). The values calculated for ten years then make up the current discounted net value of the project. The approach makes perfect sense, since the rate of return of the project costs and the inflation rate have a substantial impact on profitability.

Figure 3The I2P® innovation process

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Brainstorming: Using a variety of sources

Gate 1 Investigation

Market need Market success

Gate 2Business case

Gate 3Development

Gate 4Validation

Gate 5Launch

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Ideas and inquiries

Investigation Business case building

Development Scale-up and validation

Launch

Go or kill Go or kill Go or kill Go or kill Go or kill



pare their laboratory reports and results documents for the evaluation and communication of their project largely at the push of a button.

In the development of new products, sustainabil-ity is naturally an important decision-making crite-rion. Consequently, sustainability-related data is also recorded. Ecotoxicological test results can be re-corded, for example, but so can the advantages of raw material selection or more eco-friendly processes. Moreover, checklists reflect the unique characteris-tics of the relevant business, since many fields of ap-plication and target industries have a special legal and technical environment. With I2P®, the entire devel-opment of a project, all the way to market launch, can be managed. All the proper checklists, sets of crite-ria, and other data on the technology of the relevant unit and the needs of the target market are available.

Each year since the launch of the I2P® system, Evonik has evaluated some 500 projects for their con-tribution to the company’s performance. As a

Realistic value assessment

But because not every project in specialty chemicals leads to technical and commercial success, the net value with corresponding probabilities must be re-duced to a useful estimated value. This is normally described as ECV (expected commercial value). The ECV is an important key indicator for evaluating proj-ects, because it shows the normalized risk-adjusted value of a planned project.

As a completely practical step, Evonik integrated the calculation of the ECV key figures, the risk as-sessment, and the portfolio evaluation as standards in the I2P® system. A project, then, can be promoted with few administrative costs. At the same time, how-ever, many key figures are available quickly and eas-ily, and these supply information that provides a rapid picture of the successes or problems of a project. The bottom line is that it enables projects to be optimally managed.

If an idea passes through Gate 3, the actual proj-ect work begins in the laboratories, pilot plants, and on the market. This work can also be mapped in the I2P® system in its entirety, since it contains all func-tionalities for operative management of a project. Consequently, the researchers can capture the data from laboratory tests, syntheses, analytics, and ap-plication engineering simply and practically, and pre-

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Five hundred projects from the I2P® system are evaluated per year in the innovation pipeline



basis for the strategic planning process, the aggre gated numbers as a measure of the performance of the individual research units are particularly im-portant for taking the steps necessary to improve the value of the pipeline and, ultimately, for making a significant contribution to the company’s growth.

At the same time, it reveals a number of para m-eters, such as how innovation activities reflect Evon-ik’s strategic focus on the megatrends of health, nu-trition, globalization, and resource efficiency. Here, the analysis shows that, by value, all megatrends in the innovation portfolio are proportionately ad-dressed.

But obviously, the forecasts are only as good as the estimates that led to the calculated data. It is fre-quently reported in the literature that the values of the portfolio drop the closer you get to market launch—a phenomenon that Evonik has also experi-enced. This is why increasing forecasting reliability is a key challenge in the permanent development of the process.

In addition to using a sufficient amount of cre-ativity and flexibility, Evonik takes a systematic ap-proach to its innovation activities: based on the busi-ness strategy, the operative units draft their inno-vation strategy, define search fields, generate ideas, and build on required expertise that is not already available. They then input the ideas into the I2P® process, which ensures at an early stage that only the best of the good ideas are pursued. Another key strength of Evonik’s I2P® process is that it not only takes into account the individual markets needs in conjunction with the tailored projects, but also allows comparison among the diversified projects. This way, it makes the value of the entire innovation pipeline visible at any time—an ideal foundation for selectively driving innovation. 777

dr. Walter meon established and has headed the consultant team for Innovation Management Coaching & Consulting in the Corporate Innovation Strategy & Management unit since 2006. After studying mechani-cal engineering/process technology and earning his doctorate at the Technical University of Munich, he started his career in 1989 at the former Degussa AG as development engineer in the Process Technology & Engineering unit. He joined the former Fillers & Pigments Business Unit in 1994, where he held a vari-ety of positions within the applied technology areathat put him in charge of various product groups and customer industries. One of his responsibilities in -cluded a four-year assignment in the US for setting up a market-oriented application center in Ohio and New Jersey. Finally, he spent two years in charge of R&D for the former Plexiglas Business Unit, before accepting the assignment to build a consulting team for inno vation management in the former MSI Academy. phone +49 6181 59-12907, [email protected]

dr. Felix müller has headed the special topics of European Research Policy and International Scientific Relations in the Innovation Networks & Communica-tions department in the Corporate Innovation Strategy & Management unit since early 2011. He also serves as PROVE Officer for Innovation. Müller studied chemistry at the University of Münster and was awar d-ed his doctorate there in 1992. After working as a corporate consultant, he moved to Th. Goldschmidt AG in Essen in 1993, where he worked in application engineering for surfactants and in innovation manage-ment for what is now the Consumer Specialties Business Unit.phone +49 201 177-4303, [email protected]

literaturer. G. Cooper, Winning at New Products, Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA 1993.r. G. Cooper, s. J. edgett, e. J. kleinschmidt, New Product Portfolio Management, J. Prod. Innov. Manag. 16,1999, 333–351. W. meon, t. lewe, Nicht auf den Zufall verlassen, Innovationsmanager, 3/2008, 40–42.

NoteStage Gate® is a trademark of the Product Development Institute, Inc.I2P® is a trademark of Evonik Industries AG.

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ticularly for intercoat adhesion in multicoat structures.

TAICROS® is a reactive diluent that pro-motes UV irradiation-induced cross-linking. The product has already been used success-fully for more than ten years in various appli-cations in the plastics and rubber industries, for example in plastic films for protection of photovoltaic cells.

In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), Evonik has now developed novel formulations allowing improved per-formance in radiation-curable coatings such as UV-curable clear coatings.

The TAICROS® product family includes a number of triazine-based cross-linking boost-ers from Evonik. All products are highly effi-cient, tri-functional cross-linking additives that are used for the peroxide and electron-beam cross-linking of a number of materials.

VESTAKEEP® PEEK receives first FDA approvalK7 LLC’s K7C™ Cervical Spacer, a spinal im-plant device using Evonik’s VESTAKEEP® PEEK (polyetheretherketone), has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 510(k) approval for use as an inter-vertebral body fusion (IBF) device. This marks the first time a VESTAKEEP® PEEK-based spinal fusion medical device has gained 510(k) approval from the FDA. The K7C™ Cervical Spacer is one of several PEEK-based spinal implant devices being de-veloped by K7 LLC.

Michael Smith, founder and CEO of K7 LLC attributed VESTAKEEP® PEEK’s durabil-ity as a key component in gaining FDA 510(k) clearance. “We could not be more pleased with the test results and material durability of VESTAKEEP® PEEK,” said Smith. “The inhe rent strength and added ductility have created new possibilities for our PEEK im -plant designs.”

Evonik’s customers can reference the VESTAKEEP® PEEK product line Masterfiles (MAF), documents containing comprehen-sive test data on the product’s mechanical and biocompatible properties that meet FDA reg-

TAICROS® cross-linking additive gives chemical resistance to coatingsEvonik Industries is now bringing on to the market the successful TAICROS® cross-link-ing booster in yet another promising applica-tion: As an additive in UV-curable clear coat-ings, TAICROS® ensures chemical resistance and improved mechanical properties.

Market demand is growing for eco-friendly alternatives to conventional solvent-

borne coatings; for this reason, UV-curable clear coatings are becoming increasingly important. Their weak point so far has been a less than optimal resistance to chemical attack; TAICROS®, however, shows good results in overcoming this problem. Moreover, the chemical structure of the addi-tive improves the mechanical properties, par-

Now approved by the FDA: the K7C™ Cervical Spacer spinal implant, made from Evonik’s VESTAKEEP® PEEK

UV-curable clear coatings become more resistant against chemicals through TAICROS®

ulatory requirements, to help guide future registration processes for implant medical devices.

VESTAKEEP® PEEK is known for its supe-rior biocompatibility and biostability. Its excellent sterilization resistance and good combination of stiffness and ductility make it suitable for medical implant applications that must meet extremely high mechanical, ther-mal, and chemical requirements.

“Significant investments and thorough material testing have been completed on the VESTAKEEP® PEEK product line to ensure Masterfile strength and preparedness,” said Kenneth Ross, Evonik’s VESTAKEEP® medi-cal business development manager in North and South America. “We know VESTAKEEP® PEEK will serve as an outstanding medical material driving innovation in new product ideas and metal replacement developments.”

The VESTAKEEP® PEEK iGrade material also has regulatory clearance for spinal implants in Europe and Asia. With this 510(k) approval, customers will now have easier access to regulatory approvals in the United States market.


19NeWs

Interview with Dr. Peter Nagler, Chief Innovation Officer of Evonik Industries

For eVoNik, the year 2012 was an eventful year as far as research and development was concerned. The company increased its R&D expenditures by 8 per-cent to €393 million and achieved top rankings in the specialty chemicals industry with a high number of new patent filings. In 2012, the company held over 26,000 patents and applications and filed some 260 new patents.

Furthermore, Evonik established three new stra-tegic partnerships, namely with the University of Minnesota in the US, Jiaotong University in Shanghai (China), and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. By way of par-ticipation in three corporate venture funds with in-ternational reach, the Group also held shares in a number of young start-up companies.

The Evonik innovation pipeline currently com-prises some 500 projects. The company has adopted new approaches to keep up the flow of new ideas for the innovation pipeline with online idea contests, both through generally accessible innovation plat-forms and through the company’s Intranet. In addi-tion, the Group started the Leading Innovation ini-tiative last fall, which began with an Innovation Con-ference attended by some 70 top managers of Evonik in September 2012. In this interview, Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Peter Nagler shares further details about the initiative.

What was the reason for starting the Leading Innovation initiative?Evonik has set ambitious growth goals for itself and plans to invest a total of €6 billion by 2016 for this purpose, including some €2 billion in the high-growth Asia-Pacific region. In addition to these investments, growth relies on the essential contributions of innovation. Innovation is already a strength of Evonik—for example, more than 80 percent of our specialty chemicals revenues came from leading market positions in the past year, which would not be feasible without continuous innovation—but we want more. The purpose of the Leading Innovation initiative is to fur-ther expand our innovative power. The name says it all. Advan ces in innovation require leading and actively shaping it, which is clearly a management task.

How does Evonik show this courage?We want to be more innovative than others and be perceived as one of the most innovative companies in the world. For that reason, we organized an innovation conference with the top management of Evonik last fall to analyze for two days where we can improve further. This resulted in a number of core issues that are now being advanced in the correspond -ing projects.

Can you tell us more about these projects?One of the projects aims to make better use of the innovation potential in sales and marketing and to leverage our knowl-edge of the market for additional growth projects, while another addresses the question of integrating new technologies into

Intensifying Evonik’s innovative power

Leading innovation


20 iNterVieW

our innovation process in shorter time and more actively. We want to systematically identify “technology assets” and make them accessible for Evonik before others secure their own access. Another team is addressing innovation goals. Which goals do the Group and its business units have to establish in order to maximize the growth contribution of innovation? Additional measures are intended to strengthen our inter-nal networks, our Areas of Competence (AoC) for example, and to align our R&D activities more internationally.

What about Creavis?Creavis with its project houses and Science-to-Business cen-ters has been a highly successful model in the search for new business areas, ultimately because we consistently adapt the concept of the project houses to changing markets. However, the innovation activities in our company have changed as well,

In that case, what needs to change?We need to rely even more on our innovative power, for example when it comes to projects with higher risk. Even though such projects may fail, they also represent an oppor-tunity, as the gain is disproportionately higher if they are successful. Of course, we need to continuously improve our existing products and processes in so-called incremental innovation as well to not only secure but also expand our market positions. The right mix makes all the difference.

How do you plan to approach that?One of our business units recently gave an employee a year and a six-figure budget to follow up on an idea because he convinced them that the idea has enormous potential, even though it may not necessarily be a good fit for the current portfolio. He voluntarily gave up his own position for this project. It is not certain whether he will ultimately be success-

which makes it necessary to review the entire concept of Creavis. We are currently doing that with the goal of making our strategic research unit even more efficient and future- oriented. These are not, strictly speaking, new topics, but they ac quired new urgency within the scope of the Leading Inno-vation initiative. All of this is overarched by the topic of inno-vation culture because culture, the shared values of a com-pany and its ways of thinking, affects many areas even though we may not be aware of it.

What do you want to achieve in terms of innovation culture?I would like to see people have fun with innovation and the innovation process.

Fun?Yes, fun! It is really enjoyable to be creative, to try new things and to work on a great idea. In other words, it is motivating and serves as an incentive for top performance, particularly if an idea ultimately turns into a marketable innovation. Worry-ing about a project’s failure from the beginning lets us stand in our own way, because it sometimes means that we won’t even start the project. In the long term, this weakens our inno-vative power and is not enjoyable, neither for researchers nor for management. Innovative companies stand out for their courage.

ful, but I bet it will not harm his career if the project is unsuccessful. To me, that is the essential point: We need to see innova-tion as an opportunity and accept the risk of failure instead of striving to rule it out from the start. If you have never failed at anything, you have never pushed the limits, which means you are not likely to discover anything new. The examples I shared show that this is working quite well, but there is always room for further improvement, for example by giving researchers enough space to explore and by promoting lateral thinkers. To be sure, those people can be trying because they question everything and are abuzz with new and sometimes very strange ideas, but they are essential for generating new impulses.

Those are all soft factors that cannot be measured easily and are difficult to change in the short term. How will you make changes to this culture?With the Leading Innovation initiative, for example, and the associated topics. The top management is supportive of the initiative, which is vital. Innovation is everyone’s responsibil-ity, but we can only achieve true innovative power when everyone joins forces and when management has a shared understanding of innovation. This also means that long-term innovation goals must be given the same priority as short-term profit goals, which is more difficult than it sounds, because innovation projects require time, patience, and, above all, money. In the long term, they will advance our business. And that is our goal— to be one of the world’s most innovative companies with the corresponding profitability. 777


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As tractors head into the fields later this spring to protect seedling crops from pests, weeds, and disease, Evonik will be along for the ride. Thanks to its custom manufacturing business the specialty chemicals company’s Advanced Intermediates Business Unit is a key supplier of intermediates to the world’s biggest agrochemical companies—a job that requires, above all else, a great deal of flexibility.

[ text Dr. Jeff Dimmit, Dr. Manfred Neumann ]

tuCked AWAy Amid the sprawling fields of southeastern Kan-sas, Evonik Jayhawk Fine Chemicals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Evonik, is not really adjacent to a vibrant metropolis. But be-ing located in the heart of America’s Breadbasket is certainly not to its disadvantage. Each fall and winter, the multipurpose plants at the 830-acre site are reaching maximum load in anticipation of the spring planting and growing seasons. Part of Evonik’s Ag-rochemicals & Polymer Additives Business Line, the customer synthesis business in Jayhawk (Kansas, USA), Antwerp (Belgium), and Marl (Germany) has become a fixture in the agrochemical custom manufacturing market over the past twelve years, pro-ducing intermediates for agrochemicals manufactured by the likes of Bayer CropScience, BASF, DuPont, Syngenta, Monsanto and Dow.

To help farmers produce more, better-quality food for a world population that is expected to top the nine-billion mark by 2050, these companies are developing a growing range of agrochem-icals designed to increase yields while protecting crops from pests, disease, and weeds. Rising demand for food and increas-ing scarcity of arable land alone would be enough to drive the development and increased application of insecticides, fungi-cides, and herbicides for years to come. But agrochemical com-panies face the added challenge of catering to environmental protection and biodiversity concerns and countering the grow-ing resistance of weeds, pests, and disease to agrochemicals.

In return, industry leaders are developing highly biodegrad-able, selective formulations and compounds with dosage rates that significantly reduce the amount of agrochem applied to the field. While most of these demands are fairly predictable and can be taken into account when formulating new chemicals, there is one variable in this equation that cannot be controlled:

Flexibly meeting customer demands Custom manufacturing

When all is said and done, Mother Nature ultimately dictates the pace and volume of production in the agrochemical industry due to weather conditions differing from year to year—sometimes too wet, sometimes too dry.

Customer demand can change suddenlyFor custom manufacturers like Evonik, this means keeping up with sudden changes in demand, complexity, synthesis, and tech-nology as well as being constantly prepared to shift gears when the customer calls. Evonik’s custom synthesis business in 333

The need to feed the world’s growing population and preserve biodiversity as well as calls for more eco-friendly, low-dose crop protection products with improved efficacy drive business in the agrochemical industry


22 AGroChemiCAls

Evonik’s Jayhawk site is located in the heart of America’s Breadbasket

Evonik employs approximately 100 people in Jayhawk, including 20 degree-holding scientists


23AGroChemiCAls

Jayhawk currently manufactures several active ingredients and finished products and around ten intermediates mostly for various agrochemical customers, running three to five product campaigns simultaneously, and spread among its three multipur-pose production buildings.

Compared with Jayhawk’s dedicated plant for anhydrides, which manufactures one specific product year-round, the pro-duction schedule of the site’s custom manufacturing segment changes every three months—that is, when everything goes ac-cording to plan. Most of the agrochemical products the site syn-thesizes are based on long-term contracts, a fact that eases pro-duction planning and training. Nevertheless, the plans and vol-umes specified in these contracts or even preproduction can change at a moment’s notice. One phone call from a customer can upend the entire production schedule, resulting in the need to reschedule a subsequent campaign, expedite current produc-tion, or even shift production priorities.

Flexibility is keyMeeting such short-notice requests with minimal investment demands flexibility. Evonik ensures this flexibility in Jayhawk in three ways: with the right equipment, with extensive process knowledge, and with an experienced team. A wide range of equipment gives the site plenty of options to perform many dif-ferent types of chemistry under one roof. Depending on the complexity of product, manufacturing may require anywhere from one to eleven chemical process steps to be run subse-quently. For example, the manufacture of one of the intermedi-

ates requires Grignard formation, formation and hydrolysis of a boronic ester, a Suzuki coupling, and a rather complex crystal-lization. If Jayhawk does not possess a required technology, it may decide to set up know-how and invest in the equipment needed for this single process step.

In addition to a stockpile of special parts, storage tanks, and stills, the Evonik site in Jayhawk possesses various-sized reac-tors with assorted metallurgies and constructions—glass-lined, stainless steel, Hastelloy—to meet the special temperature and the process requirements each chemical step demands. Further-more, the connections between reactors and storage tanks can be quickly reconfigured to the next production campaign’s set-tings within a short time. Even if the equipment were already perfectly configured for the next campaign, about a week is needed to thoroughly clean the system and get ready for the next process.

The fine art of upscalingProcess knowledge is the second key variable in Jayhawk’s flexibility equation. As a custom manufacturer, Evonik does not develop the chemical structure of the product it is commissioned to manufacture. The process begins with the receipt of a customer-supplied technical package that describes how the customer produces or wants the product made (if it is an uncom-mercialized product). This information is used to evaluate how the process will run in the commercial plant and to develop the process that will be used for the large-scale, cost-efficient manufacture of complex intermediates—a process called scale-

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24 AGroChemiCAls

eVoNik JAyhAWk FiNe ChemiCAls CorPorAtioNup. It is during this process where the creativity of R&D and engineering people comes into play while designing the best process for the benefit both of the customer and Evonik itself. This is one of the primary functions of Evonik’s innovation and process development organization—either from Jayhawk or from Marl, depending on specific R&D competences needed and the resources available.

The first step in this process is chemical work in the lab, where samples are generated to ensure that the product com-position meets customer requirements. The next step in the scale-up process is a short pilot plant campaign to confirm that the process produces a product that meets the required specifi-cation. Then it is typical to run an initial production of three to five batches on the commercial scale to finalize all the process conditions before moving into full commercial production. Pro-cess development is the easier part—despite the substantial work involved in adapting such variables as temperature, pressure, and catalyst to ensure speed and cost-efficiency. The customer often does not supply the analytical methods that dictate accu-rate process development, which means Evonik’s engineers and chemists may end up spending a significant amount of time devel-oping this methodology compared to fine-tuning the actual scale-up process.

During this entire process, the engineers and chemists from Jayhawk and Marl, along with the production staff at Jayhawk, remain in close contact with the customer—maintaining a can-did, open dialogue that has branded Evonik’s Jayhawk site with a reputation for reliability. And Evonik’s employees are very knowledgeable and experienced—an added benefit of con- 333

More than just agroWhile agrochemical actives and intermediates are clearly the focus and the backbone of its custom manufacturing activities, the Jayhawk site takes advantage of deploying its technology to manu-facture intermediates for pharmaceuticals as well as specialty products for the plastics and elec-tronics industry. The site recently entered into a new strategic partnership with a leading manufacturer of poly-amides and precursors, expanding its production facility for the supply of an innovative catalyst system. The new ligand significantly increases the activity and selectivity of the catalyst, boosting efficiency in the production of an important pre-cursor associated with the manufacture of a poly-amide. The project brings two new technologies to the site, air oxidation and phosphorous chem-istry, both of which promise to open many doors for the company.

Two of the three multipurpose production buildings that cater to Evonik’s custom manufacturing business in Jayhawk (left)

Reactors in one of the Jayhawk plants (above)


25AGroChemiCAls

ducting R&D on-site: they know the plant, know its capa-bilities, know the equipment—they know it so well that they can quickly identify problems and propose solutions. And if they think of a new step or solution that could boost produc-tivity, better suit the facility, or save costs, this is also openly discussed with the customer. The site’s employees go the extra mile to make the impossible possible because they feel a sense of pride and ownership for the work they do—an additional cornerstone for the success of Evonik’s custom manufacturing business.

The best of both worldsEvonik Jayhawk has a long history in Galena—another reason the employees view the site as their own. After all, most of them grew up in the area. The Jayhawk site opened its gates in 1941 as the government-run Military Chemical Works. After World War II, the company passed through a number of hands, includ-ing Spencer Chemical, Gulf/Chevron, and Allco, before joining Degussa in 2001. Because it has been around for so long, it has been able to build up a wide range of equipment and technol-ogies.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Evonik, Evonik Jayhawk Fine Chemicals Corporation also has access to the Group’s resources all across the globe. In particular, Jayhawk works in close col-laboration with the Business Line’s R&D Center in Marl. In light of the backlog provided by Jayhawk’s significantly expanding product portfolio, Marl is assisting for the process development of several projects. And all that the Evonik extended family has to offer—in terms of process development, intellectual-property protection, business development, investment support, etc.— helps Jayhawk add state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities so that it can continue to quickly and reliably react to the needs of its customers with cost-efficient solutions. This is what sets Jayhawk apart from its peers—and quite successfully at that: The plant is heavily booked for 2013! 777

FACts ANd FiGures

Jayhawk assets at a glance• Pilot plants: High-pressure oxidation, custom manufac-

turing• Production plants: One dedicated plant for anhydrides

and one for an insect growth regulator; three multi-purpose plants for custom manufacturing

• raw materials: Ortho-xylene, nitric acid, anhydrous ammonia, sulfuric acid, magnesium, hydrazine hydrate, chloroformates, acetaldehyde, chlorine, organic chlorides, organic solvents, and more

• equipment: 26 glass-lined steel and stainless steel reactors; glass-lined and stainless stills; filter/dryers; SS centrifuges; crystallizers; rotary and band drying

• Chemical technology: Oxidation, carbonylation, alkylation, acylation, Azo chemistry, nitrogen hetero-cycles, Grignard chemistry

• Functions on-site: R&D, Engineering, Supply Chain, Production, Quality Control, Quality & HSE Assurance, Customer Service, Finance & Accounting, Human Resources, and Product Management

• employees: 108 FTEs, including 20 degree-holding scientists

dr. Jeff dimmit has been responsible for process development, quality control, and plant support at the Jayhawk site since 2005. After obtaining a PhD from the University of New Hampshire, Dimmit began working as a laboratory manager at Allied-Signal’s Solvay Process facility. He went on to manage R&D groups at several sites within the AlliedSignal organization. He joined the Jayhawk site in 1997 as an R&D and Technical Services manager. phone +1 620 783-1321, [email protected]

dr. manfred Neumann has been head of application development for Industrial Chemicals in the Advanced Intermediates Business Unit responsible for the Marl and Lülsdorf sites in Germany and the Jayhawk site in the USA since the year 2000. After gaining a degree and PhD from Göttingen University, Germany, Neu-mann began working as laboratory manager at the Marl site in 1987. He went on to manage several technical facilities there, too. Between 1995 and 2000, Neumann was operations manager of a production plant at the Lülsdorf site, a facility for intermediates for the pharma-ceutical and agrochemicals market.phone +49 2365 [email protected]

Drums being readied for shipment in Jayhawk’s warehouse: Evonik’s custom manufacturing business in Jayhawk currently manufactures several active ingredients and finished products and around ten intermediates mostly for various agrochemical customers

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26 AGroChemiCAls

of the individual components to the tubing by means of an injection-molding process based on melt-bonding. When this adhesion promoter is used, component weight can be dramatically reduced by up to 20 percent compared to conventional solutions.

“Together with automobile manufactur-ers, we’re developing even more applications worldwide for VESTAMELT®,” says Martin Rist haus, the global business manager for Lightweight Design at Evonik. “Structural com ponents or doors, for example, still have considerable weight-saving potential.” Ma -chine construction and the construction industry are also examples of segments in which the VESTAMELT® concept can be applied to hybrid machine parts.

An EU regulation requires that the emis-sions values of all vehicle fleets be drastically reduced by 2015. Replacing metal with plas-tic is an especially promising way to reach this weight-saving goal. The less a vehicle weighs, the less fuel it consumes, and thus the less carbon dioxide it emits.

New skin care line by STOKO® Professional Skin Care STOKO® Professional Skin Care has launched a new skin care line. The new line features a fresh, modern look and innovative product formulations under the successful Stokolan® brand. Based on exclusive ingredients from Evonik, the creams and lotions are perfectly attuned to the needs of stressed skin. They offer a combination of moisture and regenerative long-lasting care.

With Stokolan® intensive repair, Stokolan® hand&body, and Stokolan® sensitive, STOKO® Professional Skin Care—specialist in keeping strained skin healthy in the workplace—boasts three innovations. “Like our product Stokolan® classic, they’ve been awarded the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF) quality label for allergy-friendly products and services,” says Marketing Director Paula Ramirez-Weyershausen. Only products that demonstrably ease and improve the lives of allergy sufferers are awarded with the label. This certifi-cation is based on quality criteria developed using up-to-date research results.

The modern design of the new skin care line complete with application tips and information about the ingredi-ents makes it simple to use and means selecting products is easy. The red series marks the starting point for a num-ber of innovations that STOKO® Professional Skin Care is implementing with its new branding concept through-out 2013.

VESTAMELT®: Hybrid component to be mass-producedEffective immediately, Mercedes, a global leading manufacturer of automobiles, will be using the adhesion promoter from Evonik Industries in several of its mass-produced models. The VESTAMELT® hybrid compo-nent performs an important job, although it is used inside the vehicle and thus concealed from view. The aluminum tubing connects both A-pillars together and supports the en-

tire dashboard—from the steering wheel to the glove compartment.

These elements used to be welded or screwed together with metal connecting plates, a stable solution, but one that involves more weight. By contrast, VESTAMELT® X1333-P1, a copolyamide, covers the alumi-num tubing and joins the holding brackets, made of fiberglass-reinforced polyamide 6,

This so-called Erlanger Träger (mounting) shows the design of a hybrid component

The new red series skin care line by STOKO® Professional Skin Care with ingredients from Evonik


27NeWs

The chemical plant of the future is small, compact, and cost-effective. As part of the EU project F³ Factory, a cross-BU team from Evonik developed a new container-sized reactor technology that, thanks to the new modular production concept developed in the consor-tium, can be used to react quickly and flexibly to the market and customer requirements.

[ text Dr. Marc Becker, Prof. Dr. Robert Franke, Dr. Frank Stenger ]

Smart chemistry on a small scale

Evonik’s small-scale production plant being delivered to the F3 Factory in Leverkusen

Process equipment assembly (PEA)

there is NothiNG permanent except change. Changing consumer needs, fast-changing customer requirements, scarce resources—there are a host of reasons why new or improved raw materials, prepa-rations, and products have to be available in the chemical industry in a few years. As a rule, the time-frame for this—the “time to market”—cannot be much longer than two to three years. The company that fails to meet this deadline loses out on the market.

This is why, particularly in the specialty chemicals industry, rigid processes in large, inflexible chemical plants are often incompatible nowadays with ad-vanced and competitive production. The chemical factory of the future enables safe, fast, compact, and, above all, flexible production of chemical substances in smaller quantities, and can be adapted to the chang-ing needs of customers and markets at any time. In the F³ Factory project, 26 companies, universities, and research institutes from nine EU countries tried to get to the bottom of exactly how these kinds of small-scale production plants might look. F³ stands for “flexible, fast, future.” Between 2009 and 2013, the project participants sought ways of improving the competitiveness of the European chemical industry by minimizing cost risks and accelerating innovation cycles based on more flexible and efficient processes.

Fast and flexible: For industrial practice, this is in many respects a paradigm shift that is easier to real-ize in a joint project with other chemical companies, such as the EU’s F3 Factory project. The planned F³ prototypes are designed to prove that chemical pro-cesses can be realized with high efficiency in the smallest of spaces. They show that a complete pro-duction plant does not have to be bigger than a sea container. F³ also dispels the notion that a chemical

installation is a unique structure, built just once: The small-scale production plant consists of individual modules (process equipment assemblies, PEA) in-stalled in the process equipment container (PEC) (fig. 1). These PEAs are prefabricated components or com-ponent groups that perform certain functions in the process: They pump a reaction mixture, filter waste gases, or heat the solvent to the proper temperature. By standardizing the individual modules and the op-portunity they provide to be used multiple times in various processes, the planning and construction of a production plant can be faster and simpler, and its operation more cost-effective.

The prototype for an F³ Factory was opened in the fall of 2011 at the site in Leverkusen (figs. 2 and 3). The core of the F³ Factory is a technical center with a stationary, universally usable backbone infrastruc-ture, on which the individual production containers (PEC) can be docked. The project consortium deter-mined the types of connections for liquids, gases, and energy, but also for I&C technology and data transfer, to ensure that different processes can be docked. The operators are Bayer Technology Services and the Uni-versity of Dortmund, which have established Invite GmbH as a public-private partnership just for this purpose.

Figure 1Layout of a process equipment container (PEC), made up of individual process equipment assemblies (PEAs)(source: Bayer Technology Services GmbH)

Paradigm shift: Chemical processes in extremely small spaces

333

Docking station

Module 57 x 57 x 57 cm or multiples thereof

Process equipment container (PEC) 243 x 243 x 605 cm


29ProCess teChNoloGy & eNGiNeeriNG

How can chemical processes be made flexible? How does a new product reach market maturity quickly? Together with partners, Evonik investigated and suc-cessfully answered these and similar questions through its participation in the F³ Factory project. A team from the Process Technology & Engineering department and the Advanced Intermediates Business Unit chose hydroformylation as its model process. For the business unit, hydroformylation is a proven and important process that is normally realized only in large-scale plants, and which Evonik has used for years to produce large quantities of intermediates (fig. 4).

In hydroformylation, also called oxosynthesis, syn-gas is used to convert olefins to aldehydes. The pro-cess runs at pressures of up to 300 bar and tempera-tures between 40 and 200 °C. The aldehydes gener-ated in the process are hydrogenated to alcohols, which are used as plasticizers, surfactant raw mate-rials, and solvents, among other products. With an-nual production of over ten million metric tons, the process is among the most important homogeneously catalyzed reactions in industrial chemistry.

Conversion of the olefins is a highly exothermic reaction, which releases about 200 kilojoules per mole—in large-scale plants with an annual production of 100,000 metric tons, this creates megawatts of en-

ergy. The extreme heat creates problems: It must be continuously vented, and it limits the actual reaction of the substances. The second challenge is that only homogeneous catalysis can convert the olefins into aldehydes. This process requires catalysts that, be-cause of their rhodium content and special ligands, are quite costly. Moreover, the problem with all ho-mogeneous catalysts is the clean and efficient sepa-ration of product, solvent, and catalyst. On the large scale, this typically occurs through vacuum distilla-tion. But this partially deactivates the rhodium com-pound.

So the key challenges of the F³ project were: Can the hydroformylation be designed for a small-scale plant in such a way as to optimize mass and heat trans-fer? How can heat be removed quickly and effi-ciently? What is the best route for cleanly separating the product? From the start, it was clear that the con-ventional production process is not suitable for an intensified small-scale production plant, because there is no way it could meet the requirements for efficiency, energy consumption, and capital costs.

Instead, the Evonik team developed a completely new reactor design for oxosynthesis, which was in-stalled in a process equipment container at the Marl site by Infracor Engineering and has been operated as a PEC in the Invite technical center in Leverkusen since February of this year. The small-scale produc-tion plant consists of a total of seven modules, which require less than 38 cubic meters of space. At the core

For the first time, oxosynthesis in a modular small-scale production plant

Reactor design for improved heat removal


30 ProCess teChNoloGy & eNGiNeeriNG

+ +CO/H2

[Rh]

O

O

of the plant are two parallel jet-loop reactors in an encapsulated reaction module (fig. 5), which is rinsed with nitrogen. In the jet loops, 1-pentene, syngas, and the catalyst are intensively mixed together in a jet nozzle and finely dispersed under pressure in the en-tire well of the reactor. After converting 1-pentene to hexanal, the mixture, which is full of gas bubbles, exits the reactor, is cooled externally, and then di-rected back into the reactor. Because the mass trans-fer area for the catalytic process is maximized and the liquid is kept moving rapidly, conversion and yield are increased significantly.

A key building block of the new design is extrac-tion of the heat to an external heat exchanger, through which the solution from both reactors is directed in the cycle. This intensifies the conversion of reactants and, at the same time, helps lower costs: in conven-tional plants, the heat exchanger is implemented in the vessel and, because of its complexity, is an ex-tremely expensive construct. The external solution in the PEC, on the other hand, enables a simpler and more cost-effective design.

There is also a new, innovative, and patented method for reprocessing the reaction solution. The product is not distilled off but gently filtered through membranes at reaction temperature. Polymer mem-branes were ruled out at an early stage for the sepa-ration because of their limited temperature stability. Instead, the plant uses nanofiltration, in which the liquid streams through a ceramic material at high speed. The ceramic walls allow the aldehyde mole-cules to pass through and hold the other substances back. A welcome side effect of “cold” reprocessing is that the expensive rhodium catalyst is no longer destabilized.

Figures 2 and 3The site in Leverkusen is home to a prototype F³ Factory (photo left). There, three small-scale production plants can be operated simultaneously. A small laboratory, several computer work areas, and conference and lecture rooms complete the infrastructure

333

Figure 5Two parallel jet-loop reactors are key elements in the new reactor design

Figure 4For the F3 project, Evonik chose an oxosynthesis: the conversion of 1-pentene to hexanal

1-pentene Syngas Hexanal

Liquid feed

Gas

Product (permeate)



The reactor was designed in cooperation with the Technical Universities of Dortmund and Eindhoven, and the modular concept resulted from the input of all the partners involved in the project. In particular, the TU Eindhoven made a valuable contribution to the kinetics and reaction technology, while researchers at the TU Dortmund worked on the economic aspects of modularization and logistical concepts. The pro-duction concept comprising jet-loop, external heat exchanger, and nanofiltration stage works well and has significant advantages over the classical process-ing method. The space-time yield is up to 50 percent higher; the specific construction costs are cut by about half; and energy consumption drops by ten to 20 percent. Moreover, the new process lowers CO2 emissions.

But the project also proved that engineering chemical reactions in such a small space is no small thing. And even if a module can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively, certain technical com-promises are inevitable. For instance, coordinating the safety regulations with partners and factory op-erators required more time than was expected.

When the project began, a variety of processes for realization in the small-scale production plant were up for discussion. In addition to hydrofor-mylation, Evonik’s F³ team also considered epoxida-tion and a partial oxidation process. What all three

have in common is that they generate a large amount of heat, which has to be removed quickly and con-tinuously. The catalyst substrate plays a decisive role in this regard. So as part of the F³ project, the Evonik team studied metal sponges coated with catalysts that, thanks to their open structure, discharge energy more easily and prevent hot spots in the reaction solution. This kind of fixed-bed catalyst could be modularized and used as flexibly as needed.

As an advanced platform, the modular plant design developed in the consortium of the F3 project is suitable for a wide variety of products. For example, intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry or

Chemistry in a container is efficient and cost-effective

New platform for research and production

electronic chemicals are optimally suited for produc-tion in these kinds of small-scale production plants. And in chemistry, “small” seldom means “unimpor-tant”: many fine and specialty chemicals are required on the world market only in relatively small quan tities but are key factors in the function and quality of products. In this case, the small-scale plant is equiv-alent to a full world-scale production plant.

This is why there is such a variety of advantages to the modular plant design developed by the F3 team. In these kinds of small-scale production plants, prod-ucts can be developed quickly and placed on the market. Innovation cycles are accelerated and the financial risk is minimized. The capacity (the current plant has a capacity of 40 metric tons per year) can


32 ProCess teChNoloGy & eNGiNeeriNG

be adapted to meet demand and customer require-ments by changing the number and size of the reac-tors, heat exchangers, and filters. In a continuous ly operating small-scale production plant, new reactor designs can be tested, validated, and optimized. Not least, the plant designed by the F3 team enables fast and cost-efficient supply of samples of new substances with chemical and physical properties that precisely match those of the serial product. That lowers the costs of sample production and paves the way for new customers and market sectors.

In the final analysis, all the effort has paid off. With the help of its project partners, Evonik has spent the last four years developing a technology that makes the economically significant hydroformylation pro-cess transferable to new products and other business units. Evonik and its EU project partners also devel-oped and realized a modular production design that can be used to supply small- and medium-sized quan-tities of substances for growing markets. In the end, which products and intermediates those will be de-pends on what customers, consumers, and markets demand. In any case, with its small-scale production plant in the F3 Factory and the valuable methodolog-ical expertise it developed in the area of modulari-zation, Evonik is equipped for change. The small-scale production plant is an optimal platform for research and development, and, at the same time, a valuable system that makes chemical production more flexible, economical, and independent. 777

Prof. dr. robert Franke is responsible for oxo research as Director of Innovation Management in the Advanced Intermediates Business Unit. He studied industrial chemistry and theoretical chemistry at the Ruhr Univer-sity Bochum, where he earned his PhD in 1994 and subsequently worked as a scientific assistant. In 1998, he made his start in the Chemicals Business Area of Evonik Industries in the Computer-Aided Process Engineering department of Process Technology. After holding various positions, including a stint in Creavis’ Process Intensification Project House, he moved to his current position in early 2009. Franke earned his habi litation in the subject of theoretical chemistry in 2002, and since then has held a position as lecturer at the Ruhr University Bochum. He was appointed adjunct professor in 2011.phone +49 2365 49-2899, [email protected]

dr. Frank stenger heads the Small-Scale Processes Group in the Process Technology & Engineering Service Unit. After studying process engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe and completing his doctorate in the area of producing and dispersing nanoparticles at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, he began his career at Evonik in the Process Technology & Engineering Service Unit in 2004. There, he worked as process engi-neer in the Particle Technology department before moving to his current position in 2010.phone +49 6181 59-6284, [email protected]

dr. marc Becker heads the Reaction Engineering Pilot Plant in the Process Technology & Engineering Service Unit in Marl, and is group leader in the Multiphase Catalytic Processes area. After studying chemical engineering at the Technical University of Dortmund and earning his doctorate in the area of tech-nical chemistry, he started his career in the Process Technol ogy & Engineering Service Unit in 2008. There, he worked in the Computer-Aided Process Engineering unit as a process engineer before becom-ing group leader in Reaction Engineering. He has also headed the test center there since 2011.phone +49 2365 49-6737, [email protected]

Evonik’s small-scale production plant in the F3 Factory in Leverkusen. The entire plant is the size of a container: 2.43 x 2.43 x 6.05 m. All modules are 57 x 57 x 57 cm or designed as multiples thereof. Liquids, gases and energy are supplied through a stationary back-bone infrastructure (photo left)

Dirk Mackowiak and Frank Brocksien (TE-VT-R) at the commissioning of Evonik’s small-scale production plant in Leverkusen (right)



A few months ago, Evonik held its first Ideation Jam, and blazed an entirely new trail in innovation management. The results are encouraging and show that knowledge exchange in the specialty chemicals company can be pro-moted by social media platforms.

[ text Dr. Karin Aßmann ]

the JAm sessioNs in Minton’s Playhouse in 1940s Harlem are considered style-defining for the devel-opment of modern jazz. There, free from the need to play rehearsed pieces, musicians could evolve and try out new ideas. The unconstrained interplay inspired, generated the new and unexpected, and brought to-gether the masters of their trade.

As Evonik employees also had their first “jam ses-sion” last November, the similarity to jazz was entire ly intentional: Here, as in Harlem, professionals met who would not otherwise work together. It was a voluntary encounter, in which everyone could make an equal con-tribution, and here, as in Harlem, everyone inspired each other and encouraged each other to strike out in new directions. For the Ideation Jam, no one had to travel, because it took place exclusively online.

Wanted: Additional ways of generating new ideas for innovative businessesThe term “ideation” stands for idea generation, be-cause this is, in fact, what it is all about: “We’re look-ing for additional ways of generating innovative ideas for new businesses,” explains Dr. Georg Oenbrink, head of the Innovation Networks & Communications department in the Corporate Innovation Strategy &

Management unit. Oenbrink started the Ideation Jam at Evonik with the goal of linking the knowledge of as many employees as possible to develop ideas for new innovations—for new products, technologies, markets, and applications.

Companies like IBM have already proven that this works. The IT Group held its first such jam as early as 1998. All IBM R&D laboratories took part in the one-day brainstorming event. The jam was so suc-cessful that, two years later, the company transferred it to the Web and invited all employees to comment on a predetermined topic. IBM has now held jams with more than 150,000 participants, and the com-pany has developed and implemented quite a number of new business ideas from them.

At Evonik, the technical aspects of the Ideation Jam are handled through the social media platform IBM Connections, which the IT experts from Evonik are currently launching throughout the entire Group. The internal social network, then, is available to the entire workforce. “IBM Connections allows the em-ployees to link together in the company, even with people they would otherwise never get to know,” ex-plains Rainer Gimbel, who is responsible for the topic of IT communication and social networks in the Cor-porate IT unit at Evonik.

Successful online brainstorming

Knowledge exchange via social media



IBM Connections offers all the functions you might expect from a social media platform. Employees can create profiles of their work and training, start their own blogs or microblogs, participate in discussion forums or “wikis,” which are jointly developed ref-erence works and documentation. It also provides an Ideation Blog, where ideas can be published, evalu-ated, and commented on. Since fall 2011 the system has been adapted to the needs of Evonik, and all em-ployees interested in the topic had the opportunity to participate in a test run. In the course of this test-ing phase, the number of active users rose to 1,500.

Employees encouraged to take partGenerally, all interested employees were able to take part in Evonik’s Ideation Jam. But the heads of the business units also wrote to invite 300 selected ex-perts who could be expected to have a special affinity for this online brainstorming, based on their exper-tise. “The letter expressly encouraged them to par-ticipate in the Ideation Jam during their working hours and was very well received,” said Oenbrink.

The online brainstorming was designed to last five working days. One week prior, the letter recipients were told the Ideation Jam topic. Against the back-

drop of the megatrends that Evonik views as particu-larly relevant to the development of its own business, the question put to participants was how the specialty chemicals company can help reduce noise in the cit-ies of the future. Ultimately, around 200 employees were involved in the Ideation Jam—despite working to the usual deadlines that accumulate at the end of the year.

In addition to Oenbrink, a team of moderators helped design the Jam—representatives of the busi-ness units, Creavis, and the Process Technology & Engineering unit—as well as representatives of Cor-porate IT and IT Application Services. “We have to find out how Evonik can use this tool and how we can integrate it into our innovation processes,” says Oen-brink. “This is why we wanted to gather not only good ideas but amass experience with the first Ideation Jam.”

The moderators not only prepared the Jam but as-sisted with its implementation by sorting and subdi-viding the ideas that came in during the Jam. This structure simplified work for the participants, be-cause it reduced the time it took to get an overview of the ideas. The five days of the Jam brought in a to-tal of 200 ideas, which were commented on more than 400 times. Participants also cast 1,300 votes for 333

What can Evonik do in the future to help reduce noise in cities? This was a central question of the company’s first Ideation Jam



suggestions they liked—and each time, they could cast only one vote for one idea. In all, the online plat-form logged 19,000 visits in connection with the Jam.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the active par-ticipation, including that of the Asia and US regions,” says Oenbrink. “The Ideation Jam brought these in-novative minds much closer together than we had even hoped.” But even the participants were excited, as a flash poll right after the Ideation Jam showed: al-most 90 percent said that they would participate in the event again. The 13 moderators and the employ-ees from IT played a substantial role in the event’s success. It was their idea, for example, to fuel inter-est in the Ideation Jam during the brainstorming pe-riod by running a “motivation news ticker.”

Broad range of ideas generatedA broad range of ideas was submitted during the Jam, from building facades covered with plants as sound dampers, in the style of the plant walls of the French botanist and garden designer Patrick Blanc, through combined elastic and energy-absorbing layers that create a sound-absorbing surface coating, to sound reduction by means of polymers that can be either liquid or gelatinous. Participants in the Jam held lively

discussions on the idea of a sound-absorbing facade system for buildings, and the most popular proposal was to convert the kinetic energy of sound waves into electrical energy.

Ideas like the plastic sound-absorbing tree or a business with noise emissions show the participants’ open approach to this brainstorming: Neither idea would be obvious for employees of a specialty chem-icals company. At the 2012 Christmas Colloquium—a tradition where employees are honored with the company’s own Innovation Award for outstanding performances—Executive Board member Patrik Wohlhauser awarded the employees with the three best ideas. Twelve other participants won special prizes.

But the success of the first Ideation Jam was only the start. The cross-unit team of moderators has now evaluated the ideas and made preliminary selections. “The crucial part was the team’s assessment of whether an idea can help open up new business lines, whether it can be implemented over the next decade, and whether it could give us an advantage,” says Oen-brink. But the ideas that did not make the cut are by no means lost. The innovation managers of the business units plan to take a look at these ideas again separately.

The moderators and the IT employees during the Jam—they were largely responsible for the success of the event

333

The flash poll right after the Jam showed that the participants were quite interested in the topic of noise reduction, were satisfied with the results of the Jam, and that nearly 90 percent would participate in a Jam again immediately

The topic of noise reduction was interesting

Strongly agree Agree Partly agree Do not agree

The results of the Ideation Jam are satisfactory

Strongly agree Agree Partly agree Do not agree

50 10050Proportion of interviewees [%]

Should we do an Ideation Jam in 2013?

Proportion of interviewees [%]100

No 11 %

Yes 89 %



But now, as part of several workshops, the innova-tion managers will first discuss the selected ideas to decide which of them they want to review in greater detail in the individual business lines. These ideas will then be taken up in the innovation project man-agement databases of the business lines, where all the R&D units of the Group organize and develop their ideas and projects. “We also keep the people who submit ideas up to date on the possible development of their proposals,” says Oenbrink, “because that’s a key motivational moment for everyone when it comes to future Ideation Jams.”

Irrespective of that, the level of interest within the Group in the new approach to innovation man-agement is already high: “We already have several inquiries from various organizational units interested in holding their own Ideation Jams,” says Oenbrink. This is why the Innovation Networks & Communica-tions department has now developed a manual that aggregates the experiences from the first Innovation Jam. The manual is designed to help others prepare, implement, and follow up on future online brainstorm-ing as efficiently and effectively as possible. 777

dr. Georg oenbrink has headed the Innovation Net-works & Communications department within the Corporate Innovation Strategy & Management (CI) since early 2010. After studying chemistry and obtain-ing a doctorate at the University of Bremen, Oen brink started his professional career in technical service for thermoplastics at Dynamit Nobel in 1987. In 1989 he moved to the former Hüls AG, where he was initially responsible for global product management of the high-performance polymers TROGAMID® and DYFLOR®. In 1996 he was appointed head of R&D for the former High Performance Polymers Business Line, and in 1998 of R&D for the present-day business line of thesame name. From 2002 onward he was responsible for Innovation Management in High Performance Polymers until he moved to CI in 2010.phone +49 201 [email protected]

CoNtACt

One idea was noise-dampening plants on buildings, modeled after the plant walls of the French botanist Patrick Blanc

Executive Board member Patrik Wohlhauser personally honored the three winners of the Ideation Jam in the Best Idea category. “A company can be only as innovative as its employees,” said Wohlhauser. “This is why I’m so pleased that employees from all regions took part so willingly and used this new tool so creatively”



Evonik Birmingham Laboratories earns cGMP certification

Evonik Birmingham Laboratories recently re-ceived Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) certification from the British MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regu-latory Agency). The MHRA conducted the audit on behalf of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the course of registering a new product called SCENESSE® for the Evonik client Clinuvel. This is a patented, first-in-class photoprotective drug delivered via a sub-cutaneous, dissolving implant. Upon approval,

the drug product will be manufactured at the Evonik Birmingham Laboratories site (Ala ba-ma, USA).

“The certification provides our clients with additional assurance regarding the read-iness of our facility in Birmingham to meet the highest quality and regulatory standards,” said Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, Head of the Health Care Business Line at Evonik. He con-sequently expects further growth in the area of manufacturing complex dosage forms.

Evonik took over the facility in Birmin gham at the end of 2011 from SurModics and since then has been running it as Birmingham Laboratories. It serves as the Evonik compe-tence center for developing and producing non-proprietary or customer-proprietary par-enteral formulations with controlled release of active ingredients. In Birmingham, primar-ily aseptic and terminally sterilized complex dosage forms including microspheres, drug-loaded implants, and liposomes are produced. Currently, the facility is equipped with four separate production units.

Birmingham Laboratories is also one of two Evonik sites worldwide that manufacture cGMP bioresorbable polymers based on poly-actides, a critical raw material for ad vanced drug delivery products and biodegradable medical devices.

CyPlus successfully certifiedCyPlus GmbH’s Wesseling cyanide plant has passed its second recertification in accor-dance with the International Cyanide Man-agement Code for the Manufacture, Transport and Use of Cyanide in the Production of Gold (ICMC). Passing the audit is proof that CyPlus meets the comprehensive, stringent require-ments of the ICMC for cyanide producers.

Furthermore, CyPlus has committed to observing the requirements of the ICMC as a consignor for cyanides on defined transport routes. In addition to the 2011 certification of the transport route from the Wesseling pro-duction site to destination ports in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico and a transport route in Argentina, the transport routes in Mexico and Turkey had been certified in full compliance with ICMC requirements. The certification in Mexico also includes the terminal in Obregon (Sonora) in accordance with the ICMC protocol for production sites.

Certifications are valid for three years and are then followed by regular re-audits. They document the great commitment of CyPlus to the safe and responsible handling of cya-nides over the entire product life cycle.

ICMC is a voluntary global self-obligation of gold-mining companies, cyanide producers, and cyanide shippers. The code was devel-oped jointly by representatives of the mining industry, suppliers, and manufacturers, as well as government agencies and non-govern-

mental organizations. The objective of the ICMC is to ensure globally valid, very high and uniform standards for safety, the environment, and quality associated with the use of cya nides in gold mining. CyPlus GmbH was among the first official signatories of the code.

Evonik Birmingham Laboratories at Birmingham (Alabama, USA)

CyPlus GmbH’s Wesseling cyanide plant


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New tapir house designed for romping

The Vivarium Zoo in Darmstadt has built a larger enclosure for its tapirs to guarantee species-appropriate living conditions for the animals after a recent family addition. Thanks to a floor constructed with a DEGADUR® based resin system by Evonik, the new hold-ing pen will give the exotic herbivores space to romp for many years to come.

The Vivarium Zoo in Darmstadt is home to some 1,500 animals kept on four hectares of land, among them the lowland tapir pair Pablo and Tessa with their cub, Mateo. Since the zoo is part of the European Endangered Species Programme for tapirs, a larger enclo-sure became a necessity when the cub was born twelve months ago. As part of the up -grade, the tapir enclosure and house were extensively renovated. In their new home, the water-loving animals can now enjoy a large pool, and the floor space with over 140 square meters is almost four times the previous size.

DEGADUR® was used several times in the floor of the tapir house, namely for priming, in the support layer, and for sealing. The properties of the reactive resin made from meth-acrylates met two important requirements of the municipal zoo director and the architect, who specified that the floor had to be in - stall ed quickly to ensure the tapirs would be in their new home before Easter and that it had to guarantee a sturdy and impact-resis-tant stable area for long-term use. Tapirs,

nocturnal animals originating from Central and South America, are heavy and have an impact weight of some 300 kilograms. The animals’ three splayed front and middle toes have a significant impact on the substrate. ”No matter how hard these tapirs will romp in this enclosure, the floor is built to last for many years,“ says Dr. Thomas Rudolph, head of the Construction Segment in the Coating & Ad hesive Resins Business Line.

DEGADUR® resins are solvent-free, cold-curing methacrylate resins for creating high-

Credits

scientific Advisory BoardDr. Felix MüllerCorporate Innovation Strategy & Management [email protected]

editor in ChiefDr. Karin Aßmann (responsible)Evonik Industries [email protected] LocherEvonik Services GmbHEditorial [email protected]

Contributing editorDr. Meghan DavisChrista FriedlMichael Vogel

PhotosEvonik IndustriesRoman Grösser Frank Preuss Jonas Ratermann Stefan WildhirtInvite GmbHFotolia: Elvira Schäfer (p. 4)Robert Kneschke (p. 6)peshkova (p. 6)tsach (p. 37)Getty Images:Huw Jones/NonStock (p. 18)Anne Rippy (p. 22)Stone (p. 23)Steven Robertson (p. 35)

design Michael Stahl, Munich (Germany)

Printed by WAZ-Druck GmbH & Co. KGvorm. Carl Lange Verlag, Duisburg

Reproduction only with permission of the editorial office

Publisherevonik industries AGCorporate Innovation Strategy & Management

Rellinghauser Straße 1–1145128 EssenGermany

quality industrial flooring. The curing (or poly-merization) of the various system variants is triggered when a curing agent is added. Floor systems based on the DEGADUR® system typically are applied over concrete, cement screed, or steel. The application and curing of subsequent coating layers result in joint-free floor coatings, which can be fully used almost immediately and without extensive waiting periods. Such floors are easy to clean and can be adapted to the colors and geo-metric design of any space.

One of the tapirs in the Vivarium Zoo in Darmstadt, exploring the new enclosure


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Achtung Lithozeile druckt nicht mit! Diese Datei ist ohne Überfüllungen angelegt! Farbton Offset-Druck 48c 100m14359 033-3-2-A • Evonik Anzeige Englisch • Motiv Streichelzoo • 4c • Format: 210 x 297 mm + 5 mm Beschnitt • 11.04.13 • amELEMENTS, 4. US, OF

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