A fine white material forms from a liquid in an Erlenmeyer flask.

Digital edition 1/2026

Making Material

How fermentation makes the industrial production of spider silk possible - Glass bottles: sustainably coated with silanes - Lipid nanoparticles: On the road in North America’s research hotspots

Let’s go

Health & Wellbeing

Take a Closer Look

Take a moment to explore Evonik’s innovative solutions—for contact lens wearers and beyond.

A white cloth forms from a clear liquid in an Erlenmeyer flask

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

The graphics that describe the path to the product.

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

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

A man in full protective gear with a full-body suit, safety goggles, and rubber gloves holds two small glass vials.

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

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

A good twenty droplets of mercury on a gray surface.

In my Element

"Our mirrors encompass the room"

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.

A discussion panel featuring several participants, including two humanoid robots.

Foresight

How Soon Will AI Have a Seat at the Table?

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