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Basf 2021 R&D Press Conference: Sustainable development begins with R&D

Industry News > Basf 2021 R&D Press Conference: Sustainable development begins with R&D

With innovative processes and products, the chemical industry contributes significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Basf research and development staff work hard to promote the transformation towards sustainable development. Today, Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner, executive Board member and Chief Technology Officer of BASF Europe, and BASF scientists presented examples of innovation in the fields of transportation and agriculture at a research and development press conference. These include innovative coolants for electric vehicles and new applications for precision agriculture.

"Sustainability starts with research and development," says Dr Ma. Basf is committed to sustainable development and has a unique R&D layout and more than 10,000 r&d personnel worldwide. "In order to meet the challenges of sustainable transformation faster and achieve long-term success, we must get closer to our customers and leverage our Verbund strengths," added Dr. Ma. To that end, the company will restructure its global research structure next year. Of the three current global research divisions, research activities directly related to business units will be merged into business units, making these research activities more relevant to customer needs. At the same time, BASF is consolidating its global research activities across multiple business units into a new central research unit.

Basf has set itself ambitious sustainable development goals. The company hopes to further accelerate the development of zero-carbon process and circular economy as well as digital expansion. In addition, BASF helps customers transition to further sustainability. In 2020, BASF's global R&D investment was approximately 2 billion euros.

Improve electric traffic safety

In the global total carbon dioxide emissions, the transport sector accounted for a significant proportion. The transition to electric cars could reduce emissions. To achieve that goal, innovations are needed, such as reducing charging times, increasing safety, and making electric vehicle production processes more sustainable and efficient.

Chemistry will play an important role. Electric cars contain far more chemicals than traditional internal combustion engines. This is because the powertrain system has changed, and so have many parts of the car. Basf's r&d team continues to develop innovative products for electric vehicles, including battery materials, high-performance plastics, modified coolants and new coatings.

Plastics play an important role in improving the safety of electric cars. For example, plastics can assist in smooth impact protection and secure transmission of power, as well as serving as a heat conducting adhesive and high-voltage components and connectors with specified standard colors.

A new product in basF's Glysantin® coolant family, Glysantin® ElectrifiedTM, is designed to further enhance electric vehicle safety. The innovative formula used in this product enables it to have extremely low electrical conductivity. Even if the battery is damaged in an accident or other cause, the product will not react with the battery parts with high voltage. At the same time, this product can provide reliable anti-corrosion protection for electric vehicle cooling system.

With the help of digital means, BASF r&d has launched a new generation of MopPET ® e-coat electrophoretic paint designed to meet the needs of electric mobility. The product can be used at low temperatures to reduce co2 emissions while ensuring product quality. In addition, the technology meets existing sustainability standards, contains no tin and harmful air pollutants, and has low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Innovation in sustainable agriculture

Basf's research and development is also actively providing solutions to achieve sustainable agricultural development. The world's growers are facing a number of major challenges: the world's population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, which means growing enough food to cope with a growing global population; Growers cope with the challenges of erratic weather; In addition, growers have to implement safe and effective pest management in the face of increasing resistance, limited natural resources and declining arable land. Therefore, whether it is seeds and traits, crop protection and digital applications, innovation in agriculture is urgent.

Wheat is one of the most important grains in the world, with an annual yield of more than 770 million tons, so it will need to be significantly increased in the coming years. However, crop failures caused by arable land constraints and climate change will make this difficult to achieve. Through globally driven, locally-adapted breeding programmes, BASF helps wheat farmers improve yield and quality by developing novel traits for hybrid wheat, while effectively managing disease and pests. Basf researchers have used genetic diversity in major wheat producing areas to select the best plant traits from genetically disparate parents. By doing so, BASF addresses the needs of growers and partners throughout the value chain to achieve yield stability and better climate resilience.

To optimize crop production, BASF has developed an intelligent crop modeling platform that provides precise agricultural advice based on ongoing data analysis. The platform addresses economic, biological and sustainability parameters and advises growers on digital farming practices, enabling them to grow crops efficiently and environmentally. The platform data will be incorporated into xarvio® digital Agriculture solutions products. For example, in Smart Spraying, a solution developed in partnership with Bosch, data is paired with high-tech camera sensors and software to apply spot-spraying herbicide to weeds only where it is needed. Field trials have demonstrated that this combination of technologies can save up to 70% of herbicide use. This represents an important contribution to environmental protection while providing economic benefits to growers.

The shift in research design from sequential to parallel research also represents a way to exploit sustainable innovation. In this way, products and applications are fully developed from the outset and sustainability is taken into account in the early stages of development. Basf has successfully developed a new fungicide, Revysol®, in this way. This active ingredient, which contains triazole chemicals, has demonstrated excellent biological properties against many fungal diseases while meeting the requirements of safety and environmental applications.

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Basf 2021 R&D Press Conference: Sustainable development begins with R&D

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