Our understanding of innovation directly reflects our corporate values – curious, courageous and colorful. We believe that the great challenges our planet is facing can only be met through a joint effort of diverse social groups. Good ideas, new solutions and products are never generated in isolation. Based on the principle of “Open Innovation”, Covestro intensively cultivates exchanges and collaborations both inside and outside the company with research institutions, customers and suppliers. In the process, Covestro keeps a close eye on the entire value chain, always considering an issue from A to Z.
Take a look at three of the main forms of partnership Covestro is fostering around the globe.
Community is the root of strength. This also holds true for the field of research and development. We know that we can achieve the most innovative results by joining diverse capabilities, talents and perspectives. And we go by this principle not just with regard to our own international workforce: “Open Innovation” at Covestro includes extensive cooperation with external partners in academia, start-up companies, and industry.
Industry partnerships
Apart from bilateral collaborations, Covestro is active in inter-industry research and development projects. For instance, we have initiated a European research project launched with 14 partners from seven countries. Carbon4PUR joins the chemical industry to use waste gas from steel factories to make plastics. The EU supports the development of a particularly sustainable process to use carbon dioxide and other waste gases as a new source of raw materials. Covestro is also part of the German Carbon2Chem consortium, another powerful coalition of 17 industry players.
Universities
In the scientific world, Covestro has a dense network of international partners. For example, the company has been collaborating for many years with Tongji University in China. The Covestro-Tongji Innovation Academy, managed jointly by both partners, aims to help new products and solutions make a breakthrough in the transportation and building industries.
An important institution to channel academic excellence and innovative spirit at our company are the Covestro Science Fellows. They are a self-organized group of scientific leaders, playing an active role regarding innovation throughout our global organization and within the scientific community. Among other things, the Science Fellows act as role models for our technical community, assess existing competencies and propose new platforms for exchange. They advocate, challenge and push forward our internal process of opinion-forming on all technical matters.
Support for external research
For Covestro, partnership and Open Innovation also mean promoting external research and honoring achievements. To this end, the company established the Covestro Science Award for outstanding achievements in research in the field of chemistry-based materials. The winner of the first Science Award in 2016 was Professor André Bardow of RWTH Aachen University, Germany, in recognition of his outstanding pioneering work in the field of life cycle assessment, particularly of CO₂-based polymers.