Evonik plans Euro 4 bn investment in R&D

With an aim to bolster its research & development activities, Evonik is planning to spend Euro 4 billion over the next decade."Our intention is to turn Evonik into one of the world's most innovative companies. Innovations are a key element of our growth strategy. Innovations open up new business areas and strengthen our leading market and technology positions,” saidKlaus Engel, the chairman of the executive board, while announcing continued high investments in R&D for the future.
 
In fiscal year 2014, Evonik’s R&D spending amounted to Euro 413 million, an increase of 5 percent over the previous year (Euro 394 million). The R&D investment ratio was 3.2 percent (2013: 3.1 percent).  
 
Evonik intends to make tangible improvements to its innovative power, as innovations are to make key contributions to revenues and earnings in the future. The company plans to significantly expand its innovation pipeline to keep up a steady flow of new products and solutions. Ulrich Kusthardt, who was appointed chief innovation officer at Evonik earlier this year, presented a three-point plan for this purpose. “We must become more focused in our projects, more international in our research, and more open in our exchange of knowledge," said Kusthardt. The goal is to bring innovations to consumers with even greater speed and efficiency.   
 
The Evonik R&D pipeline is well-filled with some 500 projects, with even greater focus to come from strategic innovation management. Promising innovation areas for Evonik include ingredients for the cosmetics industry, membranes, specialty materials for medical technology, food supplements and animal feed additives as well as composite materials.