Enhancing Domestic Supply Chains and Recycling Critical Battery Materials 

Enhancing Domestic Supply Chains and Recycling Critical Battery Materials with Cirba Solutions

Interview with CIEX NA 2024 speaker -David Klanecky, CEO, Cirba Solutions

 

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

David Klanecky CEO Cirba Solutions

David Klanecky
CEO
Cirba Solutions

David: During my session at this year’s CIEX NA, I want attendees to understand the critical need for enhancing our domestic supply chain, ultimately becoming less reliant on foreign entities for critical materials and ensuring we work toward something that is sustainable for all parties in the supply chain.

To do this effectively, we need to shift the paradigm on how we source raw materials domestically and create a closed-loop approach supply of critical battery materials. By sourcing domestically, and specifically recycling and reusing, we can have a significant impact on cost and reduce the carbon footprint. 

The demand for critical, battery-grade materials is rapidly outpacing supply, especially due to the rapid growth of electric vehicles. With EV adoption projections over the next 10 years, recycling is a crucial component to meeting the supply and demand. These materials can be used over and over again, they are infinitely recyclable. And that is where recycling comes in. The largest mine we have today is on our own roads and in our homes – in our junk drawers, the tools in our garage, and even our electric/hybrid cars. 

 

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX this year?

David: As chemical engineers and business leaders, we must play an active role in the evolving multitude of transformational changes we are undergoing in society today, including electrification of how we move goods and the creation of sustainable supply chains. These are difficult problems to solve and cannot be accomplished in a vacuum. By joining CIEX this year, those of us in the chemical manufacturing fields can collaborate and share ideas to help in providing solutions for these societal issues. 

 

CIEX: With deglobalization, circularity and the energy transition as key trends currently shaping the chemical industry, what are the challenges to overcome and opportunities to harness?

David: Today, North America produces the 3rd largest volume of end-of-life batteries in the world, and only about 5% are recycled. Batteries that are not recycled often end up in landfills or are shipped to other countries. This improper disposal poses a serious threat to the environment. Landfilled batteries can leak toxic chemicals, polluting our soil and water sources. Additionally, they can cause thermal events.

Approximately 95% of the critical minerals in an end-of-life battery can be extracted and repurposed. These recovered materials can be reused in the production of new batteries, reducing reliance on virgin resources.

If they are shipped to another country, then we lose the opportunity to recover and reuse them, rendering our supply chains vulnerable.

Even as the recycling industry heats up, we are playing a game of catch-up. As new battery chemistry and pack/module designs emerge, recyclers must adapt by the time those cars reach their end-of-life, which could be 8-10 years down the line. Recyclers need to stay ahead of the innovation curve and build foundational recycling processes that can easily adapt to and integrate with the evolving needs of the market and partners. This ensures efficient, sustainable resource recovery that ultimately benefits American consumers. 

 

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you recently, and why? 

David:  Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which is a requirement that some states are adopting to ensure that more batteries are recycled at their end of life. It ensures that there is a longer-term outcome required for each battery (at end-of-life), and companies like Cirba Solutions can become the ‘preferred’ battery recycler to ensure these batteries are recycled and the critical materials are recovered. 

 

CIEX: If the future of the chemical industry is high-tech, low carbon – what are 3 essential elements needed today, to realize this?

David: Sourcing Domestically: It is estimated that in some cases, critical battery metals for cathode active materials travel over 50,000 miles before they reach a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility. If we change our approach to how we source critical materials, we can reduce nearly 96% of logistical movement and the CO2 associated with it by sourcing critical minerals domestically. 

Recycled content in EVs: By using premium upgraded recycled metals, we will make an additional impact on CO2 emissions. With recycled materials, we see:

  • A 40% reduction of CO2 per ton of Lithium produced when using recycled materials compared to mining.
  • 10% reduction of CO2 per ton of Nickel produced when using recycled materials compared to mining.
  • 8% reduction of CO2 per ton of Cobalt produced when using recycled materials compared to mining

Continued legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act: With legislation, we can promote the development of a domestic, circular battery supply chain, which will be critical in pushing forward EV and battery manufacturing growth.

  • Initiatives like this which aim to address climate challenges by providing tax credits and grants are a critical component in pushing forward a transition and securing our domestic lithium supply chain.
  • This is significant because responsible and sustainable domestic sourcing and processing of the critical materials used to make lithium-ion batteries will strengthen American supply chains, accelerate battery production to meet increased demand and secure the nation’s economic competitiveness, energy independence, and national security.

 

CIEX: Thank you so much, David! We look forward to hearing more from you at CIEX 2024!


The 10th Annual Chemical Innovation Exchange Summit (CIEX) is created for C-level R&DInnovation and Sustainability experts from the consumer, industrial and speciality chemical sectors.  This intimate event is about creating value – bringing the right people together, creating synergies, and actively connecting with potential partners. CIEX will take place in Indianapolis on October 23-24.  Companies presenting include: Dow, Ashland, Cargill, Huntsman, Monument Chemical, Evonik, Celanese, US DOE, BASF, ACS, AdvanSix, The Heritage Group, and many more.

Secure your spot at the CIEX Summit and register today!

CIEX NA 2024

Driving Sustainable Chemistry: Overcoming Challenges and Harnessing Opportunities in the Chemical Industry

Driving Sustainable Chemistry: Overcoming Challenges and Harnessing Opportunities in the Chemical Industry

Speaker Interview with Joel Tickner from Change Chemistry

 

Joel Tickner, Executive Director, Change Chemistry

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Joel: Commercialization and adoption of sustainable chemistry are challenging given the incumbency of existing chemicals that are integrated into global supply chains, capitalized and whose uses have been optimized over decades. Add to this the fact that R&D and manufacturing CAPEX costs are high and value chains are reluctant to absorb the higher cost of more sustainable options.  Notwithstanding this, manufacturing value chains MUST transition to safer and sustainable chemistry – our very future depends on this.  We will discuss the investments, incentives, coordination, and collaboration needed to incentivize this transition and accelerate the market uptake of safer and sustainable chemistry.

 

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX this year?

Joel: There is a seismic shift happening in the chemicals sector right now driven by global environmental challenges such as climate change, chemical and plastics pollution and resource depletion as well as supply chain and feedstock disruptions post-pandemic.  These present unique opportunities to reshape the trajectory of this industry and the sectors that depend on it.  Progress against every dimension of sustainability – GHG reduction, circularity, plastics pollution, biodiversity protection, elimination of toxic substances and environmental justice – depends on the availability of safer and sustainable alternative chemistries that perform, are available at scale and are cost-competitive. Understanding the challenges the industry faces to reshape itself in the next decades as well as key levers and enablers for change will provide critical insights into the types of programs, incentives, and collaborations necessary for this transformation.

 

CIEX: With deglobalization, circularity and the energy transition as key trends currently shaping the chemical industry, what are the challenges to overcome and opportunities to harness?

Joel: Circularity is certainly a key trend shaping the future of the chemical industry.  Importantly, this industry’s ambitious and necessary circularity goals will require unprecedented levels of R&D spending to fuel innovation and public and private sector investment to build out novel manufacturing capabilities.  However, this can be at odds with this industry’s relatively low levels of R&D spending and investment when compared to the pharma and high-tech sectors.  For progress to be made, governments and the finance sector will need to be willing to take risks and invest in new safer, more sustainable chemical processes and products available at scale.  It is also important that we move forward on our efforts to de-fossilize this industry and address the toxicity of many incumbent chemistries, the vast majority of which were designed for cost and performance, not health and safety.  This is a critical issue, particularly in the US where environmental justice is an increasingly important Administration priority.

Circularity, deglobalization, de-fossilization and toxics reduction will require new frameworks to increase value chain collaboration, new funding programs to enhance innovation,  public-private sector partnerships to deploy risk capital along the various stages of technology commercialization and incentivizing policy frameworks that facilitate market entry of safer and sustainable chemistry technologies.

 

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you recently, and why?

Joel: The US EPA Safer Choice program is a critical driver in the development and incorporation of safer chemicals into consumer goods.  I see this program as an opportunity for everyone from chemical manufacturers to formulators and brand owners to be recognized for their commitment to sustainable innovation and to benefit from their Safer Choice-branded products being distinguished within their competitive peer group.  Safer Choice imparts economic value to sustainability. In parallel, the SCIL list provides a clear recognition of safer chemistries for specific functional uses.

Sector-wide efforts, such as the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) and Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN), are demonstrating that downstream sectors are willing to collaborate to create unified demand signals that change chemistry.  These closer-to-consumer and brand-conscious companies can create the demand or pull that engages the chemicals sector more effectively in developing solutions.  As those solutions often require significant investment, organizations like Change Chemistry can help to understand the barriers at a sectoral and systems level and drive the investments and collaborations necessary to effect change.

 

CIEX: If the future of the chemical industry is high-tech, low carbon – what are 3 essential elements needed today, to realize this?

Joel: The future of the chemical industry is not just high-tech and low-carbon, it also has to be low toxicity.  Three essential elements needed today include:

  • Investment in demonstration, deployment and adoption of safer, more sustainable chemistries – reducing the “green premium” for these products.  Chemical suppliers can make safer, more sustainable chemistries but if they aren’t purchased and there is no market, then they can’t grow.  We have seen in certain sectors – consumer products for example, that there is an appetite for sustainable chemistry and consumers are willing to pay more to protect their families and communities.
  • Greater government coordination and public-private collaboration to drive growth in sustainable chemistry. Change Chemistry built a coalition to advance the passage of the US Sustainable Chemistry R&D Act that established an interagency strategy team and requires the development of a strategic roadmap to coordinate sustainable chemistry R&D and investments across the federal government.  The soon-to-be-released strategic roadmap needs to create clear directions for future coordination and investment.
  • Greater supply chain coordination to advance sustainable chemistry.  We have found through 18 years of Change Chemistry that there is often a disconnect between actors in the value chain and collaboration is key to accelerating innovation and addressing barriers.  Change Chemistry’s first-of-its-kind Collaborative Innovation Challenge for Safe and Effective Preservatives in Consumer Products, which engaged 11 brands, 2 retailers and 6 chemical suppliers demonstrated the value of “collaborative innovation” to drive solutions in a pre-competitive space. The effort not only reshaped R&D in preservatives, it also accelerated the development of more sustainable solutions. 

CIEX: Thank you so much, Joel!


The 10th Annual Chemical Innovation Exchange Summit (CIEX) is created for C-level R&D, Innovation and Sustainability experts from the consumer, industrial and speciality chemical sectors.  This intimate event is about creating value – bringing the right people together, creating synergies, and actively connecting with potential partners.  CIEX will take place in Indianapolis on October 23-24. Among attending companies: Hexion, Lubrizol, Monument Chemical, Celanese, US DOE, BASF, ACS, Advansix, The Heritage Group, and many more.

Secure your spot at the CIEX Summit! Connect with industry leaders and innovate together. Register today!

Driving Sustainable Chemistry: Overcoming Challenges and Harnessing Opportunities in the Chemical Industry

Revolutionizing the Chemical Industry with Lubrizol

Revolutionizing the Chemical Industry: Interview with CIEX 2024 speaker –Abhishek Shrivastava, VP of Innovation & Decision Science, Lubrizol

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to

Abhishek Shrivastava,VP Innovation & Decision Science Lubrizol

Abhishek Shrivastava,
VP Innovation & Decision Science
Lubrizol

remember?

Abhishek: To continue to innovate in the chemical industry, we must work together and be amenable to change. Those who stay relevant are agile—we must think differently about data, keep sustainability at the heart of the entire value chain and work together to enable progress.

 

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX this year?

Abhishek: I am excited to join CIEX this year because I believe it is a great opportunity to learn from and network with some of the most innovative and forward-thinking leaders in the chemical industry. I am eager to hear about the latest trends, challenges and solutions that are shaping the future of our sector. I am also looking forward to sharing my own insights and experiences on how to drive digital transformation and sustainability in the chemical value chain. Together, we can create more value and impact for our customers, society, and the environment.

 

CIEX: With deglobalization, circularity and the energy transition as key trends currently shaping the chemical industry, what are the challenges to overcome and opportunities to harness?

Abhishek: Adapting to these trends requires building more resilient and flexible business models, as well as collaborating with stakeholders across the value chain to ensure compliance and efficiency, including:

  • Leveraging digital technologies and data analytics to optimize production processes, reduce waste and emissions, and enhance customer experience. 
  • Investing in innovation and R&D to develop new products and solutions that meet the evolving needs and expectations of the market.
  • Accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources and low-carbon feedstocks, such as bio-based or recycled materials, to reduce the environmental footprint and improve the industry’s sustainability. 

 

CIEX: What is one project or initiative in the industry, outside of your own company and associations that really inspired you recently, and why? 

Abhishek: I am really inspired by an adjacent industry, Pharma. What inspires me is how Pharma uses data and AI to accelerate drug discovery with readily available libraries of molecules and key properties needed for docking with a target protein. It is a great example of how AI and data can be used for speed to market in other industries. 

Another example is Agricultural Tech. It is very inspiring to see the use of advanced technologies like drones and computer vision in initiatives like precision farming, leading to more sustainable farming practices.

 

CIEX: If the future of the chemical industry is high-tech, low carbon – what are 3 essential elements needed today, to realize this?

Abhishek: Three essential elements that are needed today are:

  1. Innovation: The development and adoption of new technologies and processes that can reduce emissions, increase efficiency, and create value from waste streams. 
  2. Collaboration: The cooperation and coordination among different stakeholders, such as key industry players, policymakers, customers, suppliers, academia, etc., to foster a supportive environment and facilitate the scaling up and deployment of low-carbon innovations.
  3. Transformation: The strategic and systemic shift in the business models, markets and culture of the industry to embrace circularity, decarbonization and customer-centricity.

CIEX: Thank you very much – we look forward to hearing more at CIEX 2024 in Indianapolis!

 

 

Join us at CIEX Summit 2024 on October 23-24 in Indianapolis, USA to hear from Abhishek and other industry experts from Dow, Braskem, Cargill, Huntsman, Ashland, Levaco Chemicals, Cirba Solutions, and many more. Global chemical innovators will showcase cutting-edge technologies, organizational transformations, and mindset shifts in an evolving industry. Access the full agenda and registration details here: https://ciexsummit.com/. 

Chemical Innovation Exchange Conference 2024

Creating a sustainable future for personal care products

This year the CIEX conference will be held in Frankfurt, Germany on the 5 & 6 October. Leading up to the event, we speak to Coralie Alonso, Ashland R&D Leader for Hair Care and Home Care to give you a glimpse of what to expect from her session: The challenge of balancing performance and sustainability in personal care products.

“The future is exciting, bringing new challenges, new puzzles to solve. No one can do it alone therefore industry leaders need to be collaborative and open minded.”

 

CIEX: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Coralie Alonso: The chemical industry has a major role to play to enable the change in consumer habits for a sustainable future in personal care. With increasingly greater emphases going forward on cleaner, safer technologies including the use of biotechnologies for example, the future innovations increasingly require multidisciplinary skills / diverse teams from the outset. Lots of scope for innovation/ideas in the coming together of such skills/varied backgrounds. We as an industry have to (collectively/collaboratively) play a leading part in addressing the challenges of climate change.

Coralie - Ashland - Sustainable future of personal care products
CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Coralie Alonso: Every change brings opportunities. I strongly believe this is an amazing time to work in the industry. The chemical industry is undergoing a fundamental change, having to address new demands on sustainable approaches. To be successful we need to be creative, innovative and collaborate more than ever. I think this is very motivating.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2022 and what are your expectations?

Coralie Alonso: The personal care industry needs new solutions, I hope to get inspired by innovative ideas from other parts of the chemistry world, and exchange ideas. Our CTO at Ashland recommended CIEX to me as a great platform for networking.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Coralie Alonso: From my vantage point of view in personal care, it looks like the industry in on the verge of a revolution or a re-invention at least. We need to bring new solutions, sometimes to problems that have already been solved. That requires new ways of thinking, and this is difficult, but we are getting there. And with the help of in silico tools, we will get there faster than anticipated. The innovations reaching the market now are more and more creative. The future looks bright.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Coralie Alonso: The future is exciting, bringing new challenges, new puzzles to solve. No one can do it alone therefore industry leaders need, in my opinion, to be collaborative and open minded. Good ideas can come from anywhere, we need to stay connected. We need to keep investing in Innovation – it is key.  The chemical industry needs to continues to embrace the advances in clean technologies including biotechnology, and work collaboratively to make them work on industrially relevant scales. The adaption of biotechnology driven advances offers new areas of opportunity or exploration for new chemical products and/or for cleaner ways to make them, or to make existing products.

 

Join us at CIEX 2022 on the 5 & 6 October to hear more from Coralie Alonso and other industry experts from Solvay, Clariant, Nobian, Evonik, GFBiochemicals, Pryme, Dow discuss game-changing innovation through collaboration. Tickets are available at ciex-eu.org.

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Partnership and collaboration through Open Innovation with Croda

At CIEX 2021 Nick Challoner, President Life Science at Croda talked about the company’s strategy to unlock innovation through partnerships and collaboration. The below is a summary of Nick’s presentation.

Introduction

Everyone would agree that there have been long-term alterations to the pattern of the weather and temperature. These alterations can be natural, like the variations in the solar cycle. However, these alterations could be biological or influenced by man’s activities. The solar process causes naturally influenced changes, but human activities have been the primary driving force.

Climatic Changes

Since the 1800s, anthropogenic events have led to the revolution in the world today. Similarly, burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas drives climatic changes. Burning these fuels produces emissions that deplete the ozone layer, trap the heat from the sun, and increase the temperature of the earth. Significant examples of greenhouse gas emissions are carbon dioxide and methane.

Deforestation, burning coal, or driving a car that uses gasoline will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. Gathering garbage in landfills is the major contributor to methane release. The use of energies, emissions by industries, transportation, buildings, and agriculture do the most to the devastating state of the world we experience.

However, people have not been able to answer all the questions that surround the problems of climatic change. The urgency to fix the issue of the world is becoming intense considering the degrading effects of climatic changes. As a result, Open Innovation seems pivotal at this point.

Open Innovation

Open Innovation collaborates with people to solve this common issue of man. Every individual does not have all of the answers to these problems. However, there is strength in unity; this is where collective innovation power is needed. People have simple solutions but can be agglomerated into practical solutions for all.

Why should we innovate?

Innovation helps to have specific purposes and targeted goals. Innovations aim at permanent solutions rather than providing solutions for a temporary fix. As a result, different people and organizations have innovated several solutions to deliver these solutions. These innovations come as New and Protected Products (NPPs).

Technology Readiness Levels

New and Protected Products (NPPs) arise from synthesis, application, and manufacturing. The ecosystem of partnership brings organizations together to solve the common problem – having a green community. Also, organizations can enjoy a competitive advantage from these partnerships. With the innovation method, you can measure performance outcomes.

Skin science has contributed immensely to this new revolution as it has developed a long-term relationship. Skin science focuses on healthy products rather than using some products that could increase the unpleasant gases in the atmosphere. As a result, they have an excellent effect on the body and, eventually, the environment.

Also, partnerships bring smart science to the market. Many organizations with good intentions are becoming known because the world now pays attention to its global problem. For example, entekno provides sunscreen with UV protection over traditional spheres. Also, Glass flakes are environmentally friendly for the industrial and coating market.

Industrial contribution

Nautilus is another collaborative partner in Open Innovation. The company offers a natural source of personal care actives for the skin. Enza Biotech AB builds a platform of sugar-based surfactants which are degradable by the body. Also, the surfactants are biodegradable and do not increase the number of pollutants in the environment.

Another top organization that should be commended for its efforts to achieve a green society is Novel Process Development. Their effort includes the use of safe plants for economic benefit and carbon dioxide reduction. These plants help to purify the atmosphere and make it healthier for life. In addition, plants use Carbon dioxide for their activities and release oxygen into the environment. This reduces the toxicity in the environment and the materials therein.

CIEX 2022 | Open innovation | Supercritical CO2 | NPPs

Also, Supercritical CO2 is another innovation that helps achieve a safe environment. They contribute to the environment by replacing the typical carbon dioxide, which increases global warming. Global warming or the greenhouse effect refers to a high temperature making the world inhabitable for life. Supercritical CO2 replaces atmospheric carbon dioxide and eliminates the adverse effect it may cause to the world.

Agricultural contribution

Finally, another company with immense contribution is Agrochemical drift reduction technology. The focus is on agricultural products that help agriculture but help the environment. They are biodegradable purifiers that remove the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The agricultural products are friendly to human lives and animals. Eventually, it reduces the existing pollutants in the environment.

The technology uses drying droplet analysis to produce healthy chemicals that are compatible with the crops. Also, they are friendly with the environment.

Another collaboration is with Advanced Therapeutics. It brings us closer to our competition in a comfortable way. Many efforts are improving medical and pharmaceutical formulation to provide a better world for all.

Conclusion

Achieving a stable and clean environment should be everyone’s effort. The world is dying, and we are responsible for it. In the same vein, we can be more accountable for our solution to make it green. A safe world is precious to life and growth. Open Innovation is the solution to achieve it all.

 


You can find all recorded presentation on our CIEX Portal. It also contains past case studies and images captured from past CIEX conferences. Your next chance to join our CIEX live is in Frankfurt, October 5 & 6, 2022.

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Developing new business models and eco-design actions at Elkem

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Developing new business models and eco-design actions at Elkem

The annual CIEX conference is taking place again on October 5&6 in Frankfurt, Germany. In the run-up to the event, we are talking to some of our key speakers. In our latest blog, Louis Vovelle, at Elkem speaks about his company’s climate roadmap, circular economy, the importance of open innovation and the need for increased agility.

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

LV: Elkem has developed an ESG strategy for a long time and last year, we presented our climate roadmap, of which the circular economy is one of the components. Circular Economy is a quite new domain for us but behind this subject, we are gradually discovering that it is not a question of providing simple technical solutions but of operating a systemic shift in our product/process design and also in our relationships with our partners (suppliers/customers). In brief, what are the fundamentals of a lean and smart circular economy strategy? Can we keep an organizational agility in a such complex domain? How to onboard everyone and to convince them of our approach? How to be sure the chosen topics are the most material and how to avoid greenwashing?

Louis Vovelle Banner talking about circular economy

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Louis Vovelle: The urgency for action on these subjects and a personal appetite for risk taking. It is important for us to compare our ideas with our peers and receive their feedback.

For one, companies and governments are setting ambitious targets for the next decades, through this presentation, we would like to stress that, beyond carbon emissions considerations, collaborations and partnerships will be key to anticipate, prevent and adapt.

In addition, Open Innovation is a strong focus for Elkem and a key lever for growth, we believe that developing this kind of ecosystems on this domain is and will be a strong enabler and a competitive advantage.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2022 and what are your expectations?

Louis Vovelle: Sharing initiatives, creating new links and strengthening our ecosystem is mandatory if we want to succeed on Circular Economy. Things are moving too fast and we don’t have all the competences and answers inside to find the best and more sustainable solutions. Then, we have to develop these transitions from linear to circular and only partnerships and an open mindset with suppliers, customers, academics will allow us to find the best models and best practices. Looking at the CIEX agenda, my expectations are very simple – To have “shaking” days, great contacts and new projects first at the European level.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Louis Vovelle: If we look at the current state of the chemical industry and its efforts around Innovation, the words that come up are collaborative projects, acceleration and awareness. We all know that we have to change our practices if we want to develop sustainable growth that is acceptable to society as a whole. Innovation in the broad sense involving new business models, new organizations will be one of the key elements of success. Results of innovation to date has been judged mainly on amount and speed of economic success, innovation also now needs to ensure that it focuses on delivering sustainable success. Seeing that companies in the chemical industry have taken up this subject makes me very optimistic but also responsible of our role for the future.

CIEX Banner
CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Louis Vovelle: The answer is not so obvious because it must respond to divergent imperatives depending on the time scale. In the long term, the obligation of a “greener” industry will prevail. So, we have a starting point and a strategy for the next 5-10 years. There is of course a way to get there, but the impact of externalities (different regulations depending on the region, Energy balance, Governmental policies, etc.) is more difficult to grasp. One of the ways to maintain our competitiveness is certainly to de-risk our initiatives with even more collaboration and great agility and simplicity in our decision-making

CIEX: Louis, thank you very much. We look forward to hearing more at CIEX 2022!

Hear more from Louis Vovelle and  the chemical industry’s innovation strategies and decarbonisation efforts at CIEX 2022. Speakers include C-level representatives from Solvay, Clariant, Nobian, Evonik, GFBiochemicals, Pryme, Dow and many more. Tickets are available at ciex-eu.org.

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Making sustainability a reality in the chemical industry | Clariant

Sustainability is the ultimate driver for innovation in the chemical industry. As the earth continues to experience an environmental crisis whose deadline for solutions was yesterday, the industry must make sustainability happen today through circularity, innovation and collaboration. Consequently, one of the leading chemical players, Clariant, is making decisive moves to push the sustainable development goals 12 and 13: responsible production and consumption, and climate change respectively.

Dr Martin Vollmer, Chief Technology Officer at Clariant, shared some of the key initiatives through which the company is innovating sustainability at the 2021 CIEX conference. Clariant’s activities span three core areas: care chemicals, catalysis and natural resources. In order to achieve truly transformative goals in these areas, sustainability has been embedded in the company’s values and strategy. This strategy is five-fold:

  • Focus on innovation research and development
  • Add value with sustainability
  • Repositioning of its portfolio
  • Intensified growth
  • Increased profitability

However, the validity of any strategy is underlined by its execution. For Clariant, innovating towards greater sustainability in the chemical industry meant tackling seven sustainability challenges in five ways.

Seven Sustainability Challenges of the Chemical Industry

Seven Sustainability Challenges | Clariant, CIEX 2021 | sustainability in the chemical industry

While these challenges are clear and distinct, Dr Vollmer emphasizes that they are connected through their solutions.

In this vein, a special department at Clariant called Sustainability Development Unit is responsible for collaborating with other departments in order to unite efforts towards climate neutral operations and a sustainability driven portfolio change. So how does Clariant work towards goals while addressing these seven challenges?

1. Setting Clear Measurable Goals:

Following from the broad goal of zero net emissions, Clariant decided to establish ambitious interim goals towards 2030. To improve the climate change crises by reducing greenhouse emissions by a combined 54%. On the other hand, making operations more sustainable by decreasing water intake and waste by a combined 45%, reducing landfilled non-hazardous waste by 40% and hazardous waste by 45% among others. The sustainability unit consistently monitors relevant data on these goals to improve solutions.

2. Consumer-Centric Innovation Process:

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the carbon footprint of the products they purchase. Thus, adapting the product innovation process for circularity is a big deal at Clariant. Using industry generated tools like CompTox Suite, the company is able to evaluate innovations at the very earliest stages. Dr Vollmer encouraged the use of CompTox Suite for instance, because of its ability to highlight elements that may seem neutral at first but prove hazardous eventually. When everything goes well, a product typically hits the market with the EcoTain certification – a mark of sustainability.

Seven Sustainability Challenges | Clariant, CIEX 2021 | sustainability in the chemical industry

3. Biomass feedstock:

By 2050, it is predicted that fossil feedstock will be totally eclipsed in the chemical industry by bio-based, CO2-based and recycled feedstock. Clariant has chosen to take an active part in this eradication of fossil feedstock and effectively make sustainability happen by engaging in circular solutions, hydrogen economy and bioeconomy. This is where most of the magic happens, and partnership is key.

Increasing ROI from Biomass Feedstock

The sunliquid process takes the enormous waste from agricultural products. For example, wheat stalk and processes them into cellulosic sugar and eventually cellulosic ethanol. Dr Vollmer puts the massive environmental savings into perspective by illustrating that from the hectre which produces seven tons of crop also comes up to five tons of straw. The seven tons goes into production of starch sugar for nutrition but what happens to the five tons of straw? Often they are burnt.

However, those five tons have the potential to yield up to 2.5 tons of cellulosic sugar! And this without interfering with the food chain. The need to profitably access this yield and transform it to ethanol inspired sunliquid® technology. This technology is the chief Clariant product not the second generation bioethanol; this is because wide-adaptation of the technology can bring significant changes. Also, beyond bioethanol, the sunliquid® process has the capacity to generate other biochemicals through biotechnology and catalysis.

Pilot Plant in Romania Shows High Energy Savings

To illustrate the commercial viability of this technology, Clariant is setting up a plant in Romania to prove their concept to stakeholders. When implemented correctly, sunliquid® plants will achieve high energy savings. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 120% (taking carbon capture into consideration) and save up to 147,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the transport industry with just one plant.

Industrial Plant Making Bioethanol in Romania | Clariant | sustainability in the chemical industry

Layout of Clariant’s bioethanol plant in Romania

The goal with Clariant’s first plant in Romania is to valorise 250,000 tons of straw to produce 50,000 tons of bioethanol per year. Like its products, the plant is poised for circularity in the way it effectively engages the by-products of operations. Two key byproducts of the process, lignin and vinasse are fed back into the system. Lignin is used as an energy source to power the sunliquid® plant, and vinasse as a bio-fertilizer for the wheat fields.

In order to make the plant completely circular there is an opportunity for partnerships in capturing CO2 emissions. At the same time, feeding it back into the system as residue to be re-processed.

Sunliquid® recycles byproducts: lignin and vinasse | Clariant | Biomass Feedstock

Sunliquid® effectively recycles byproducts: lignin and vinasse

 

Safe and Sustainable Design Outside the Plant

To improve sustainability in the chemical industry, stakeholders must continually question how they can make even the extraction process of nutritional elements more circular. One example Dr Vollmer uses to illustrate the economic potential here is Clariant’s Licocare® from Rice Bran. 

The difference between edible rice bran oil and crude rice bran oil is mostly the crude rice oil wax. This wax is a byproduct of the process and often ends up as waste. In line with their goal of reducing waste by 45%, Clariant upvalues this wax to produce Licocare® Rice Bran Wax, a bio-additive solution for plastics. Additionally, this meets the needs of Clariant’s plastic customers, making it a win-win in people, planet and profit.

Upvaluing Crude rice bran wax into Licocare® Rice Bran Wax | sustainability in the chemical industry | Biomass Feedstock

Upvaluing Crude rice bran wax into Licocare® Rice Bran Wax

  1. CO2 as FeedstockHere, Clariant enters the Hydrogen economy. The goal is to hydrogenate CO2 to produce methane, ethanol and possibly (depending on the availability of hydrogen), Ammonia – a new energy carrier. To this end, Clariant is working towards establishing plants to purify CO2 emissions from steel production. Why the steel industry? Because it accounts for 5% of global emissions.

    How CO2 can be used as feedstock | Clariant | Biomass Feedstock

    The potential of CO2 as feedstock

     

  2. Partnering for Circularity: Some goals may seem daunting even in the long term. There are several immediate ways in which stakeholders can contribute to innovation in the chemical industry for sustainability. Participating actively in policy development and sustainability discourse does go a long way in partnering for circularity. This is why Clariant sits on the table of various global organisations like the World Economic Forum’s Low Emitting Technologies Initiative.
How Clariant Engages Industry Stakeholders Toward Circularity

Clariant engages industry stakeholders toward circularity

Nevertheless, Clariant is just one player. The potential for sustainability in the chemical industry depends on the willingness of all stakeholders to innovate towards it. The aim of sharing Clariant’s goals and methods is to provide content that can catalyse further innovation and partnership. Remember, the Earth’s crises needed a solution yesterday. So what will your company do today?


Your next chance to join CIEX live is CIEX 2022 in Frankfurt, October 5&6, 2022. Book your ticket at https://ciex-eu.org/.

In addition, you can find past presentations in our video archive at https://ciex-eu.org/presentations-from-ciex-2020/#

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Embrace technology for radically improved innovation

Digital innovation is a core topic of CIEX 2021. Having impressed us and the audience during our start-up panel at CIE X2019, we asked Anita Schjøll Brede CEO & Co-Founder of IRIS.AI back to talk about digital innovation and machine learning at CIEX 2021. While preparing for the conference, we sat down with Anita to talk about her topic, expectations and motivations.

CIEX: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Anita Schjøll Brede: The world is moving fast – much faster than we might grasp on a daily basis. Topics like AI, Machine Learning and digitalization have by now made their way into our board rooms, executive meetings and in some cases into our day to day operations. But what do they really mean? Centruy-old innovation leaders in other industries have become obsolete because agile and disruptive players have entered the market and within few years bypassed the market caps. So what prevents fully digital players to to so in the chemical industry? Is there anything inherent in this industry that prevents disruption? What can large players do to stay relevant into the future?

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Anita Schjøll Brede: Innovation, disruption, AI and the future is near and dear to my heart – both as the CEO of an AI company developing smart tools for Chemistry R&D, as faculty in Artificial Intelligence at Singularity University, and as Board Member of the Katapult startup accelerator programs. This is what I surround myself with on a daily basis, and sharing my vision of the future to open the dialogue is always exciting.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2020 and what are your expectations?

Anita Schjøll Brede: I thoroughly enjoyed my time at CIEX in 2019, which was my first. I loved what I saw there. An industry which in many ways is so far behind the more digitally native industries. Yet an industry that is now realizing the monumental impact exponential technologies will have on their research, development, commercialization and markets. All the players I spoke with and listened to in 2019 were in the early process of turning their massive organizations around. That willingness to change, to confront the inherent slowness, to embrace the future is exciting. And it’s so fascinating to get to play a small part in it.

For 2021, I am hopeful to see some early fruits of this work. To see the rate of change, and to exchange experiences. I come at this from the small, agile AI player side. Being able to spar some really large challenges with corporate giants in an open and welcoming forum such as CIEX is powerful.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry. How would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Anita Schjøll Brede: Digital innovation is a big and fluffy word that means a lot of different things to different people. I see an industry that has realized that the old incremental innovation systems that have been in place for decades are no longer serving them. There is an outspoken need for more agility and flexibility. To be able to fully embrace the potential embedded in new technology for radically improved innovation. At the same time there’s an inherent inertia embedded in the industry, that my organization get to meet with on a daily basis. New technology for innovation efforts is not enough.  New, cross-organizational innovation mindsets are needed, and that can be much harder than developing AI.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Anita Schjøll Brede: The agility and flexibility needed to remain relevant also in the future is difficult for massive corporations. But it is not impossible. My experience is that a mindset open to broad collaboration – internally and externally – within innovation is essential.  Opening up for more experimentation, flexible processes, smaller project teams with larger autonomy and agency to try (and to fail) are keys to transformation. It is my belief that any company building and sticking to 5-year plans (rather than 5-year visions) is going to get in trouble. There needs to be room to change course, rapidly.

CIEX: Anita, thank you very much. We look forward to hearing more at CIEX 2021 this October in Frankfurt!

Related: Innovation through cross-industry collaboration: Pre-conference Interview with Evonik’s Head of Corporate Innovation Strategy


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CIEX 2021 will take place on October 6&7 in Frankfurt/Main and online. Due to the current social distancing measures seats at the live conference are limited. Book your ticket at https://ciex-eu.org/. 2021 Presenters include senior representatives from Dow, Braskem, Evonik, Clariant, Du Pont, BASF and many more.

 

Innovation through cross-industry collaboration: Pre-conference Interview with Evonik’s Head of Corporate Innovation Strategy

Having been at every single CIEX event since our launch five years ago, Dr. Daniel Witthaut, Head of Corporate Innovation Strategy at Evonik is certainly one of our strongest supporter and a much valued speaker. So we were excited to catch up with him ahead of his presentation this October in Frankfurt as part of our CIEX interview series.

CIEX: Dr. Witthaut, first of all thank you for all your support over the past five years. We are very excited to have you back in 2021 with your talk on “Driving innovation in sustainability by cross-industry collaboration”. Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your presentation and what would you like delegates to remember?

Daniel Witthaut: The core message of my talk will be that we need to have cooperation to address the challenges but also to reap the potential benefits in the area of innovation for sustainability. Sustainability is part of the business strategies in almost all businesses and there are many examples where co-operations are working very well. But certain mindsets are necessary to explore the full benefits of innovation ecosystems and I will share our experience at Evonik and invite other companies to collaborate.

“I see a huge potential for innovation to deliver on the UN Sustainability Development Goals”

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Daniel Witthaut: The topic resonates very well with my experience and perspective on transformative innovation. Especially in the area of sustainability, e.g. I see a huge potential for innovation to deliver on the UN Sustainability Development Goals. I believe that these challenges are so demanding, that industries let alone companies cannot solve these issues by themselves. These topics need to be addressed in collaboration between companies, science, policy makers and society in general. Since the topics of co-creation and sustainability not only resonate very much with my heart and experience but with a lot of things that we do at Evonik it was a perfect match to talk about at this year´s conference.

Driving innovation in sustainability by cross-industry collaboration

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2021 and what are your expectations?

Daniel Witthaut: It will be the fifth time that I join the the CIEX conference. The conferences in recent years have been a very good opportunity to cultivate existing contacts. At the same time I managed to establish new and inspiring ones each year. I have the same expectations for this year´s conference. I am looking very much forward not only to the presentations but also to good discussions during the breaks.

“Innovation is one of three levers for profitable growth”

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry. How would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Daniel Witthaut: At Evonik as a leader in specialty chemicals, innovation is one of three levers for profitable growth. Therefore our focus on making our innovation efforts better and better will constantly continue. Innovation efforts in the chemical industry will remain on a high level and I believe this development will continue. What I believe is changing is that the collaborative work for transformative innovation will increase across industry borders. It will more and more include start-ups. While incremental innovation will certainly remain necessary to defend a company´s competitive position, transformative innovation will be essential for substantial growth above market growth rates.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Daniel Witthaut: I believe leaders must find the right balance between short term and long term oriented decisions. Certainly the current COVID-19 crisis has significant impact on several -but fortunately not on all- businesses. Leaders must weigh cutting costs, driving productivity, and implementing safety measures and so on against supporting innovation driven growth. Here we have to find the right approach to address today´s challenges. At the same time we cannot forget about the long term and sacrifice long term efforts for short term benefits. Sufficiently supporting innovation these days will be a key for unlocking growth after the crisis. I remember that Evonik developed very well after the financial crisis in 2008 / 2009 as Evonik did not lay off people and kept the R&D budgets at the same level during the crisis years.

CIEX: Thank you very much Dr. Witthaut. 


You can find the recorded presentation on our CIEX blog. It also contains more than 100 case studies and images captured from past CIEX conferences. Your next chances to join a CIEX related event are during our Virtual – CIEX Data Summit (May 10, 2022) and live CIEX (Frankfurt, October 5 & 6), 2022.

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You might also be interested in:

Bridging the gap between idea and industry – BASF Venture Capital

Embrace technology for radically improved innovation

Creating a sustainable future by fundamentally re-imagining the chemical business model

CIEX 2020: Pre-Conference Interview with Richard Haldimann, Head of Sustainability for Clariant

At the upcoming CIEX 2020 Virtual conference on 7th – 8th October, Richard Haldimann Head of Sustainability Transformation at CLARIANT will discuss innovation driven by circular economy in his presentation Gaining competitive advantage with the circular economy – Sustainability transformation at Clariant’’ We have spoken to Richard about his topic of choice and his motivation for joining CIEX 2020.

Question #1: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Richard: Climate change, resource scarcity, technological advances, rising customer expectations– these are all real challenges. The chemical industry can and must deliver the innovation needed to create a more sustainable and circular economy. But a more holistic approach will be needed. Adopting circularity in the chemicals industry requires looking at the trends and needs beyond the established customer base and value chains. To gain a competitive advantage, businesses need to close the loop with cross-industry collaboration. Innovation and collaboration combined will help create the infrastructure needed to enable businesses to shift toward circular business models and improved sustainability.

Question #2: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Richard: Sustainability is the key societal challenge and therefore presents a unique business opportunity for us. The EU Green Deal with its commitments on a broad range of environment- and sustainability-related targets will become a very strong driver for change in our industry.Citizens and employees are demanding action not only with the Fridays for Future demonstrations but also when choosing the company to work for. Our customers are setting aggressive climate targets and circularity and they expect our industry to help them achieve those. Investors are committing to shifting portfolios and invest in line with the Paris Agreement.Everyone is under a lot of pressure to deliver and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development goals. At Clariant we are systematically pursuing these opportunities through our own sustainability transformation efforts, striving to maximize the synergies that chemistry has within its ecosystem and enable a sustainability transformation in the industry.

Question #3: What motivates you to join CIEX 2020 and what are your expectations?

Richard: The seniority of the participants and the high relevance of the topics. CIEX brings together thought leaders and experts from various fields and is always a good platform for networking along and across the value chain. Collaboration is an essential element of innovatione specially in the area of sustainability and circular economy and CIEX fosters this. My expectation is to develop connections in different fields and come away feeling inspired by what we will see and hear.

Question #4: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Richard: The chemical industry is at a crossroads. Striving for carbon neutrality presents a huge challenge for many companies.Our industry has the innovation capability to deliver the solutions to many of the sustainability challenges we see today – if we decide that this is the priority and are willing to invest. Public funding will remain vital to limit the financial risks associated with significant investment in promising new technologies. The chemical industry is not always the most visible and yet we are fundamental to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Question #5: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Richard: The global chemical industry faces a transformational change. We must embrace the challenges ahead, specifically those in the sustainability area, and see these as an opportunity. This is vital for our industry to remain competitive and relevant in the future.Without the continued development of sustainability-driven offerings, our businesses – some sooner than others – will start to lose markets, profitability and, ultimately, the interest of shareholders.Agility has become abuzz word and it may well prove the vital ingredient alongside talent.It’s a more speedy and digital chemical future in front of us. Leaders of the future will be the ones that quickly adapt to a rapidly changing environment and deliver what society needs.

Question #6: Looking back on the past 3 months please share your thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on the industry but also society in general

Richard: The epidemic forced companies to adapt quickly to unprecedented and difficult circumstances. I was struck by how people rose to thechallenge,thriving in a crash course in organizational agility and virtual team working and quickly building digital capabilities. I think we can be proud of our industry’s readiness to adjust operations and work together to supply urgently needed specialty chemicals like disinfectants to support the fight against COVID-19.

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