BASF funds €100mn for 'raw material change' research
21 Nov '06
3 min read
BASF combines key technology-driven topics of future relevance in five growth clusters: energy management, raw material change, nanotech-nology, plant biotechnology and white biotechnology.
These are cross-sectional technologies, which transcend the conventional demarcation lines between specialist areas and drive success on the basis of inter-disciplinary and international cooperation.
As part of the research and development expenditures, a total of approximately €850 million has been earmarked for research activities in the five growth clusters for the period from 2006 to 2008. BASF expects annual sales of €2-4 billion from innovations arising from these growth clusters as of 2015.
At the "Journalists and Scientists in Dialog" event, experts from BASF, DaimlerChrysler AG and the Karlsruhe Research Center will discuss background issues and trends concerning this year's topic "Raw mate-rial change: coal, oil, gas, biomass – where does the future lie?" About 60 international journalists will attend the meeting in Ludwigshafen.
The most important starting materials for most of the BASF value chains today are olefins and aromatics, which are mainly produced from naphtha in steam crackers. The alternative raw materials are natu-ral gas, coal and renewable raw materials.
BASF experts identify meth-ods for the utilization of alternative raw materials in our growth clusters and analyze these chemical and biochemical processes in termsof technological viability, economics and ecological compatibility.
€100 million has been budgeted for research in the "raw material change" growth cluster from 2006 to 2008. €160 million has been set aside for research in the "white biotechnology" growth cluster.
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