Evonik launches successor to Creavis

Evonik has realigning its strategic research unit, Creavis, with the launch of the Evonik Innovation Factory. This, it said, “operates as an entrepreneurial development unit, accelerating the transition of technological breakthroughs into industrial applications … it has a clear mandate: innovation with speed, market focus, and application relevance”.

At the heart of this is a mandatory average timeframe of five years for a programme to be developed to the point where Evonik can transfer it to a business line, ready for operations and production. The company will draw on its own expertise and external partners from academia, start-up ecosystems and industry partners. 

The Innovation Factory focuses on areas where Evonik already has established strengths and the market is demanding new concepts. Among those highlighted are rhamnolipids biosurfactants, which are already used in cosmetic and cleaning products. The company is also pursuing the development of biopolymers to replace fossil raw materials and anion exchange membranes for the green hydrogen economy.