Artificial intelligence is penetrating ever deeper into our everyday lives. It is changing jobs, politics, and even psychology. In the future, it will permeate all areas of society. The Evonik Foresight team has therefore analyzed the effects of this game changer
Consumables
A Clear Improvement
Scratch-resistance, durability, and smoothness—these are the qualities consumers expect from bottles and jars. To achieve them, glass containers need a protective coating. Using silanes as the foundation, Evonik and its partner TotalEnergies have developed a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional methods
Interview
“There are many ways to make glass more sustainable”
As a packaging material, glass faces tough competition from plastic, tinplate, and cardboard—and offers clear advantages when it comes to recycling. Dirk Diederich, CEO of the Institute for Glass and Raw Materials Technology in Göttingen, explains in which applications glass can perform particularly well—and how it can be optimized even further
Biosolutions
Smooth As Silk
Silk has fascinated mankind for thousands of years. Now the precious fiber can be redefined biotechnologically. Together with the company AMSilk, Evonik uses fermentation to manufacture the precursor for a high-performance fiber modeled on nature
Fermentation
From a spider gene to a silken thread
The German company AMSilk has developed a process that enables bacteria to produce the protein that spiders use to spin their threads. These ten steps can turn spider silk into a blouse
Pharma
Perspective on RNA therapeutics, LNPs, and what comes next
Synthetic messenger RNA has revolutionized the development of medicines. While the focus has so far been infectious diseases, attention is now also turning to cancer and rare diseases. A key factor lies in the delivery systems
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.
Lipid Nanoparticles
An Ecosystem for Lipid Nanoparticles
Why Evonik established a presence in Vancouver and Cambridge: to be close to cutting-edge science, innovative startups, and the next breakthroughs in RNA delivery
Green hydrogen is seen as a great hope for the energy sector in the future. A team from Evonik has put a pilot plant into operation in which new high-performance membranes for water electrolysis are now being produced on a large scale. These hold the key to more cost-efficient production of green hydrogen, which industry needs as a building block for decarbonization, and for energy independence as well
Hydrogen
“We need more planning security”
The market for green hydrogen is developing more slowly than expected in Germany and Europe. Dr.-Ing. Ann-Kathrin Klaas from the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne explains how government regulation and innovative technology can help ensure things pick up speed again
Hydrogen
Turn on the hydrogen
Hydrogen is considered the fuel of a green economy. Investments are rising rapidly.
Hydrogen
Important Role for Green Hydrogen
An anion exchange membrane enables the cost-effective and flexible production of green hydrogen. Evonik has developed such a membrane and will produce it in a pilot plant in Marl in the future.
In my Element
Hydrogen from the biorefinery
At the Evonik site in Rheinfelden, on the border with Switzerland, hydrogen is produced in an unconventional way.
Mercury—A Metal in Motion. Today, due to its toxicity to humans, it is largely confined to niche applications. In the past, it was used not only in thermometers but also in the making of remarkable mirrors—a technique Steffen Noack initially had to teach himself.
“This Blue Is Divine!”
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.
CLEAN AIR
Hydrogen Peroxide
Sustainable Propulsion Systems Boost Spaceflight
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.
Mobility
Why Europe Lags in EV Shift
According to Maximilian Fichtner, it’s only a matter of time before gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles will be replaced by electric cars. In this interview, the renowned battery expert explains why Chinese storage technology is faster and more powerful—and why Europe is in danger of missing the boat
Mobility
Rules for electric traffic
Electric mobility is picking up speed worldwide. Governments rely on various regulatory measures to manage their markets and drive the transition to sustainable transportation solutions
Energy Transition
Stored power
Improved batteries are playing a key role in the energy transition and in sustainable mobility. Evonik is working to make energy storage systems more efficient and cost-effective. Even well-known technologies have substantial amounts of potential that is still untapped.
Membranes
Hightech Membranes from Lake Atter
There’s a long tradition of producing plastic fibers in Upper Austria. In the town of Schörfling, plastic fibers are used to make membranes that could revolutionize natural gas purification worldwide
Clean Air
Peroxid power
Cosmetics, cleaning agents, microelectronics—hydrogen peroxide has been inspiring innovative applications in chemistry for two centuries. As a supplementary propellant for rockets, this compound of hydrogen and oxygen is now playing a major role in ensuring greener propulsion in space.
Membranes
LESS CO₂ IN NATURAL GAS
In order to meet the increasing demand for natural gas, more and more gas fields with a high CO₂ content are being tapped. This is an ideal area of application for the new high-tech membranes from Austria.
