Evonik expands international R&D footprint with Singapore facility

Source: Evonik. Front, from left: Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Economic Development Board of Singapore and Dr Harald Schwager, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Evonik Industries; middle from left: Dr Claus Rettig, Chairman of the Board of Management, Evonik Resource Efficiency and Dr Ulrich Sante, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Singapore; and back from left: Dr Gerd Loehden, Senior VP of Innovation Management, Evonik Resource Efficiency; Peter Meinshausen, Regional President of Evonik Asia Pacific South and Dr Ulrich Kuesthardt, Chief Innovation Officer, Evonik Industries.

Germany-based specialty chemicals company Evonik today opened its first research hub for resource efficiency topics in Singapore, internationalising its research into the areas of functional surfaces and additive manufacturing.

The new hub showcases Evonik’s strategic decision to expand the internationalisation of its research and development (R&D) activities.

“Innovation is an integral part of our growth strategy,” said Harald Schwager, Deputy Chairman of the Board for Evonik Industries during the opening ceremony. “We are actively pursuing new opportunities to boost our international R&D activities and the opening of this research hub is a significant contribution to these efforts. By focusing on promising research areas for the future this hub will strengthen our position as a global leader in specialty chemicals.”

For Evonik, Singapore combines the best of two worlds: highly qualified researchers from leading science faculties and quick reaction times from the local administration.

“This research hub is ideally located to drive innovation for our resource efficiency segment by developing forward-looking solutions and technologies for our clients in all global markets”, added Claus Rettig, Chairman of the Board of Management, Evonik Resource Efficiency.

“With this new hub, we are taking advantage of a new approach to research: Enabling a creative environment for innovations and encouraging agile, flexible working.”

Talent from all over the world will be brought together to carry out pioneering R&D by integrating scientific and technological capabilities in a collaborative lab concept.

With the research hub, Evonik is also expanding its collaboration with public and private research institutions and organisations. Evonik has formed a partnership with Nanyang Technological University Singapore to develop novel technologies in additive manufacturing for industrial application.

“Evonik has been present in Singapore for more than 20 years and our strong regional footprint has positioned us as a market leader in the speciality chemical industry, particularly in Asia,” said Peter Meinshausen, President of Evonik Asia Pacific South.

“The research hub will not only reinforce our competitive position, but will also play a critical role in pioneering impactful innovations to address industry needs and challenges in and beyond this region in the years ahead.”