The space industry is going places: The need to achieve technological progress and deliver sustainable propulsion systems is producing a host of new players that are driving these innovations inexorably forward. Evonik Active Oxygens’ environmentally compatible propellant, PROPULSE, has an important role to play here.
Sustainability
Efficiency Meets Sustainability: Why the Two Are No Longer at Odds
Climate targets without implementation plans, regulations without impact: Where does sustainability really stand? And what role does the chemical industry play in all this?
Energy Transition
Recycling powered by solar and wind energy
Alkoxides are already central to the production of biodiesel today. In the future, these catalysts are also expected to play a key role in chemical recycling. Evonik has recently started producing them climate-neutrally in a globally unique facility in Singapore. For this achievement, the company received the EuroCham Sustainability Award 2025 for innovations in decarbonization.
Biosolutions
Spicy solution: Some like it hot
What sounds like a culinary experiment is applied science for animal nutrition. Natural heat from chili could help prevent nutrient deficiencies in cows during early lactation and under summer heat stress.
Climate Protection
Nobel Prize: The Chemical Carbon Chase
This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to three scientists from three generations and three cultural backgrounds—who are also friends. Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi played pivotal roles in developing so-called MOFs, which are linked to major hopes in the fight against climate change, among other applications.
Electrolysis
Inside, everything is different
The chemical industry is energy- and resource-intensive. Electrifying its processes can significantly contribute to making it more climate-friendly. In the research and innovation project “ETOS”, Evonik is working together with partners from industry and academia to operate chemical reactions with electricity instead of fossil energy sources in the future.
Metall & Machines
Key Material for Our Daily Lives
With a new facility in Yokkaichi, Evonik is supplying key materials for batteries, coatings, and high-tech applications—setting new standards for sustainable production.
Interview
"Climate change mitigation must be fun"
Climate change mitigation and nature conservation are currently having a hard time: The economy is weakening, the geopolitical situation is fragile, and major players such as the United States are pulling back. Climate researcher Mojib Latif and conservationist Myriam Rapior discuss the consequences for global warming and biodiversity loss
Soil Protection
Regaining Ground
Housing is now being built in many places where factories or barracks once stood. However, cleaning contaminated sites is time-consuming and expensive. Various substances from Evonik convert pollutants in the ground into harmless products or bind them in place—and offer a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional remediation methods
Polyamide
Invisibly green
Polyamide 12 makes products more robust, more durable—and more sustainable. Evonik produces this high-performance polymer in various sustainability levels. The customer decides how much the climate benefits. The inner values of the material always remain the same
An entrepreneur and passionate surfer is now making surfboards better and more environmentally compatible at the same time, while an additive from Evonik is playing a decisive role in making surfing greener
Consumables
Good Scent, Good Feel, Good for the Environment
Tony Liu and his team have developed a transparent fabric softener for the Asian market that eliminates the use of solvents. After intensive research and development, they achieved a breakthrough: a particularly eco-friendly and cost-effective product.
Resource Efficiency
Creating sustainable artifical leather
Artificial leather spares animals and can also benefit the environment. Thanks to modern chemistry, both benefits can be achieved without sacrificing quality. Evonik is developing solutions that make the production of leather substitutes even more sustainable
Biotensids
Sustainable hygiene
Without surfactants, dishwashing detergents, shower gels, and shampoos would be ineffective. In cooperation with Unilever, Evonik has now developed an especially efficient surfactant based on rhamnolipids. It comes from biological sources and is completely biodegradable. According to the experts, there is a huge demand in emerging economies in particular
Hydrogen Peroxide
The direct route
Evonik has developed a new process for the efficient and environmentally friendly production of propylene glycol. In cooperation with the US-based Dow company, the technology is now being brought to market maturity
A blue with a history spanning more than a thousand years, made unique by brominated compounds: For the Ptil Tekhelet Association in Jerusalem, it is indispensable for producing the Jewish prayer shawl in the traditional way—the only organization in the world that does so. Physicist and electrical engineer Baruch Sterman explains the background.
"We want to build the most accurate clock in the world"
Time is no longer measured solely in human dimensions. Atomic clocks control and regulate time more accurately than humans ever could. The Vienna University of Technology now wants to go one step further and base clocks on the atomic nucleus.
Hydrogen from the biorefinery
At the Evonik site in Rheinfelden, on the border with Switzerland, hydrogen is produced in an unconventional way.
“I’m reaching for the stars”
Dr. Andrea “Annie” Kritcher is a nuclear engineer and physicist on the National Ignition Faculty at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. For the December 2022 experiment, she designed the capsule that contained the deuterium and tritium fuel
Evonik Countries
Here, we present countries and their cultures where Evonik is active.
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MEDTECH
Implants
Biological Innovation in Breast Reconstruction
When women undergo breast cancer surgery, many opt for silicone implants afterward. In the future, structures made from the bioresorbable polymer Resomer could support natural healing and replace lost tissue through natural cell growth.
Medtech
Close to the bone
PEEK is an important material in the medical device industry. Together with an ambitious inventor and entrepreneur, Evonik has developed a variant of the thermoplastic that allows the manufacturing of 3D-printed implants that could improve the health of patients
Chart
From head to toe
High-performance plastics or biosynthetic materials are indispensable for many medical applications. They can be formed into a variety of shapes, are robust or biodegradable depending on the intended use and are compatible with the human organism. An overview of the possible applications for medical products
Interview
What makes a good collaboration?
Andrea Engel coordinates a diverse team of scientists, technical and business experts working on the partnership with Stanford University. This is her view on cooperations in the field of R&D
Fermentation
From Jena to the World
In the laboratories of JeNaCell, bacteria are producing the material for a dressing that enables wounds to heal quickly and gently. This area of application is scheduled to grow further following the company’s acquisition by Evonik
