Research and Development
- Enhanced innovation approach aims to focus and accelerate research activities
- Startup of pilot plant for production of high-temperature superconductors
- Easy-to-process Kollicoat® MAE 100-55 supplements our pharmaceutical excipients portfolio
At the research press conference in Ludwigshafen in June 2016, we presented our enhanced innovation approach. Its aim is to focus and accelerate our research and development activities. Existing resources will be more intensively exploited. We are making even more room for creativity, more quickly evaluating new ideas and research strategies, and ensuring our competitiveness through targeted development of our key technologies. Research activities are being closely tailored to the development and needs of BASF’s operating divisions. Our key success factors include efficiency and creativity as well as a high level of integration within our Research and Development Verbund and external networks.
We started up a pilot plant for producing high-temperature superconductors in Rheinbach, Germany. This is an important step on the path toward a market launch for superconductive cables that transfer electricity at nearly zero losses, making them considerably more efficient than conventional cables. The plant uses a chemical production process developed by BASF which offers cost advantages over previous methods. Our customers use the wire manufactured here to create prototypes for innovative, high-performance applications in power grids.
Our portfolio of functional pharmaceutical excipients has been expanded by Kollicoat® MAE 100-55. Used in film coatings for tablets, this polymer enables the targeted release of active ingredients in the digestive system. The product’s performance level is equivalent to similar excipients, but offers pharmaceutical manufacturers the advantage of a dried powder made from larger particles. This allows for dust-free handling and makes processing easier, cleaner and more efficient.