Open Call (Reminder) - EIC x Cefic Chemistry-4EU Enhanced Cooperation: Pitching in front of 11 key corporates

The European Innovation Council and Cefic (European Chemistry Industry Council) has recently invited you to participate in the upcoming Chemistry-4EU initiative that currently has applications open. Taking place in a hybrid format (P&G's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and online) from 10 to 12 May 2022, the intention is to give selected EIC funded beneficiaries the opportunity to pitch their solutions in front of important corporates in this field while promoting & enhancing business cooperation for sustainability through chemistry in Europe. 

 

Don’t wait up and make sure to apply here until 30 March 2022! 

 

Chemistry-4EU Challenges 

• Each participating corporate has its own unique set of challenges. 

The respective chemical or consumer product categories of these companies are outlined on their website. See below the specific challenges from a select number of companies: 

 

BASF 

Recycling 

• Recycling technologies for cross-linked polymeric systems (e.g., Epoxies, PU) including composites 

• Tools, technologies, or business models enabling closed loops along an extended value chain (producer to customer to end-of-life-collection back to recycler/producer) 

Biodegradability of sustainable materials 

• Tools or methods to develop and promote biodegradation standards and scientific methods to achieve acceptance by all stakeholders (governments and NGOs) 

• How can we replace non-biodegradable functional ingredients in liquid formulations? 

• How can we sustainably increase the share of biogenic carbon in our functional ingredients for our customers formulations? 

• How can we replace palm kernel oil in our formulations? 

 

Borealis 

Circular Economy  

• Development of technical concepts and solutions for advance packaging in order to reduce waste using PO materials (design for reuse, design for recycling) 

• New developments of purification technologies for sustainable feedstock produced by pyrolysis of plastic/municipal waste or any other alternative input feedstock stream 

• Methods and technologies to ensure traceability and advanced quality control of mechanically recycled products 

• Advanced solutions for usage of mechanically recycled PO´s together with development partners along the value chain 

• Exploration of alternative sources for renewable feedstock for PO production not competing with food chain  

Energy and Climate  

• Technologies to increase energy efficiency on Borealis production processes (production of olefins and polyolefins) and reduce flaring 

• Opportunities on use of renewable energy for sustainable production of olefins (Hydrogen technologies, Plasma technologies, electrification of production processes) 

• Development of technologies enabling reduction of CO2 emissions during transportation and storage 

• Technologies (including tools and equipment) to establish circularity of CO2 in Polyolefin production (Carbon capture and usage, CO2 as feedstock) 

 

Clariant 

1. Bio-base chemistry 

2. Digital technologies (e.g., process control/formulation/high throughput/tracking/tracing/product passports/blockchain/AI) 

3. Circular economy/secondary feedstocks (plastics, chemical recycling, waste, CO2 etc.) 

4. Electrification/alternative energy sources 

- Bio-base chemistry 

- Digital technologies (e.g., process control/formulation/high throughput/tracking/tracing/product passports/blockchain/AI) 

- Circular economy/secondary feedstocks (plastics, chemical recycling, waste, CO2 etc.) 

- Electrification/alternative energy sources  

 

Covestro 

Green heat access & management 

• a very immature market calls for action in terms of supplies, standards, traceability, etc.  

 Solutions for flexible production approaches 

• chemical production as large energy consumer might play a role in grid elasticity management, balance energy buffer etc. with requirements for monitoring, management, plant/operation layout, credits, trading schemes, etc. 

CO2 & CO electrolysis 

• approaches to reduce activation energy, catalysts, cell structures etc. 

 

Dow 

Leading the blueprint - Dow integrates public policy solutions, science and technology, and value chain innovation to develop sustainable societal blueprints 

• Low CO2-footprint gasification or pyrolysis of waste including refining/post treatment 

• Novel electrification concepts (incl. electrochemistry, electrical heating concepts, etc. 

• Large capacity battery concepts (renewable energy intermittency) 

• Novel carbon capture technologies 

• Gas separations (all: alkane/olefin, H2, N2/CO, CO2, H2/CH4) 

• Waste energy capture and storage 

 

Advancing a circular economy - Dow advances a circular economy by delivering solutions to close the resource loops in key markets 

• Plastics, polymers, silicones recycling 

• Digital technologies enabling plastics circularity around mechanical recycling of rigid and flexible packaging   

- Machine Vision Solutions for material identification   

- Robotic technologies for materials separation   

- Enhanced technologies for advanced waste cleaning   

- Operational Guidance (smart manufacturing) technologies for streamlining of recycling operations for profitability and reliable data collection, analysis, and reporting   

• Plastic additives towards performance optimization or degradability, compatibilization related to mechanical recycling 

 

Safe materials for a sustainable planet - We envision a future where every material we bring to market is sustainable for people and our planet 

• Biosourced or biodegradable silicones 

• Biofeedstock for plastics 

• Polymers from a bio feedstock as a substitute for petro based chemistry (lubricants, surfactants, solvents) 

• Green polyurethane or bio sourced components to reduce footprint 

 

World-leading operations performance - Dow maintains world-leading operations performance in natural resource efficiency, environment, health, and safety 

• Advanced Industrial Cleaning Technologies and methods for cleaning of equipment and structures in chemical plants, including waterless and/or closed loop cleaning systems  

- delivering improved operational efficiency, reliability, energy use   

- reducing chemical exposure of people and planet   

- Robotic Technologies delivering the above-mentioned cleaning solutions reducing people exposure to harsh conditions and elevated work 

• Robotics delivery & inspection systems for chemical equipment and structures, suitable for use under harsh chemical conditions 

• Metal Additive Manufacturing – Spare part of the future 

• Novel sensors systems (IoT) and Inspection Solutions for monitoring and early detection of fouling of chemical equipment, pipes, etc. to improve operational efficiency 

• Positive piping identification 

 

Delivering breakthrough innovations - Dow delivers breakthrough sustainable chemistry innovations that advance the well-being of humanity 

• High temperature heat storage >>200°C 

• High temperature ceramics (800°C - 1200°C) 

• Molten-salts technologies 

• Plasma chemistry (scalable concepts) 

• High temperature electrics (>>200°C) 

• Smart coatings (self-cleaning, dirt pickup resistance, self-repairing, destroying/deactivating contaminants, or pathogens) 

• Methane valorisation (non-fuel) 

• CO2 valorisation (e.g., to carbon for utilization in composite material, conversion to chemicals.) 

• Breakthrough material science solutions related to transportation and adhesives, more particularly in the field of fuel cells and thermal management   

 

Valuing nature - Dow applies business decision processes to complete projects that increase business value and are better for ecosystems 

 

Engaging for impact: communities, employees, customers - Our people worldwide will directly apply their passion and expertise to advance the well-being of people and the planet 

 

Leading the blueprint - Dow integrates public policy solutions, science, and technology, and value chain innovation to develop sustainable societal blueprints 

 

DSM 

Digitally enabled business models (Precision) 

• Personalized Nutrition 

• Animal Precision Nutrition 

Preventing health issues, boost immunity, healthy solutions by nature (Prevention) 

• Healthy gut 

• Immunity 

• Sugar reduction 

• Cultures Powerhouse 

• Pharmaceutical Nutrition 

• Personal Care 

• Animal Gut Health 

Driving adoption of sustainable proteins to feed the population (Proteins) 

• Sustainable food proteins 

• Low-footprint feed proteins 

• Animal emission reduction 

Sustainable (bioscience based) ingredients (Pathways) 

• Biobased Vitamins & Carotenoids 

• Sustainable lipids 

 

Evonik 

Circularity 

• Additives, catalysts & expertise for efficient processing of circular material streams (mechanical & chemical plastic recycling) 

• Recycling of composites 

• Separation technologies for valuable metals and other (key) resources and materials 

• Traceability of material streams 

• Circular logistics of specialty materials in general. 

Feedstock Switch and Substitution 

• Enable an increased share of bio-based materials 

• Enable an increased share of circular and easier to recycle products 

• Relate to CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage) for CO2 and other carbon sources. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage.  

Especially we are looking for: 

• next generation sustainable oils, oleochemicals, sugars and sugar-based chemicals 

• ethical sourcing schemes 

• biodegradable replacements for non-biodegradable ingredients beyond plastics 

Hydrogen Economy  

• Membranes for electrolysers and fuel cells 

• Novel catalysts and electrode materials 

• Materials, specialty chemicals and additives for hydrogen storage and transportation 

Renewable Carbon  

To fight climate change, we need to curb our consumption of fossil resources and switch to renewable carbon sources. Viable substitutes include biomass, recycled feedstock, and CO2. Evonik is particularly interested in solutions, such as CO2 capturing technologies. 

Conversion of CO2 to higher-value chemicals via chemical and biotransformations. 

 

Neste 

• Green and/or circular solutions for transportation (road transportation, aviation, and marine)  

1. Fuels based on renewable raw materials (e.g., lignocellulosics, algae, other sustainable renewable raw material)  

2. Fuels based on circular raw materials (e.g., waste plastics, municipal solid waste, other waste raw materials)  

3. Hydrogen and power-to-X based solutions  

4. Energy storage (e.g., batteries, battery technology and materials, chemical storage) for electric mobility, transportation, and industrial use)  

5. Other sustainable solutions for transportation with potential for significant GHG reduction  

• Green and/or circular solutions for polymers and/or chemicals  

1. Technologies utilizing sustainable renewable raw materials (e.g., lignocellulosics, algae, carbohydrates based, other sustainable renewable raw materials)  

2. Technologies utilizing circular raw materials (e.g., waste plastics, municipal solid waste, other scalable circular raw materials)  

3. Power-to-X based solutions for polymers and/or chemicals  

4. Other sustainable solutions for polymers and/or chemicals that have potential for (i) significant impact in combating waste challenge, and/or (ii) significant GHG reduction  

 

P&G 

New safe and sustainable materials and ingredients 

• Novel preservative solutions in consumer products without sensitization challenges 

• Novel surfactant solutions with lower greenhouse gas impact and safety profile profiles 

• Actives can include anionic, cationic, and nonionic actives. For some surfactants this includes novel process opportunities to eliminate impurities such as dioxanes 

• Novel polymer solutions with superior biodegradability profiles 

• Novel actives with superior cleaning and safe and sustainable profiles 

• Fragrance actives 

Circular economy solutions   

• Identify alternative recycled resins for liquid containing products 

• Approaches to reduce resin use in plastic packages 

• Alternative packaging solutions to plastic containers for liquids 

• Alternative packaging business models such as re-fill and re-load at home or in store to reduce overall plastic use and delight the consumer 

• Technologies and solutions embedded in packaging to prevent microbial contamination in re-fill of products 

• Solutions to enable the value chain acceleration and efficacy to boost collection and recycling of plastics in non-food applications 

 Product ingredient transparency and traceability 

• Identify digital platforms which enable transparency of chemical ingredients of formulated consumer products such as detergents, shampoos, etc. 

• Technology and digital platform solutions to enable traceability of products and packages 

• Novel approaches to enable predictive and real-time Sustainability measurements such as LCA and greenhouse gas impact 

• Alternative and sustainable solvents for liquid products (e.g., mono-ethanol amine)  

Elevate Manufacturing Sites towards net-zero impact based on water, waste and energy footprint  

The objective is to develop modular, scalable, and affordable solutions Net 0 production plants. This includes: 

• Recover waste heat for production facilities 

• Alternative energy streams such transition from methane to biomethane 

• Electricity continuity systems for production plants 

• Alternative approaches to water heating and hot water loop   

 In addition, there are opportunities for water management opportunities based on water contaminants, and water quality need, and wastewater discharge requirements.  These includes: 

• Opportunities to clean with less water (e.g., coatings). Or cleaning without water 

• Rainwater or evaporation recovery technology 

• Organic material separation in wastewater 

 

Repsol 

Low-carbon energy technologies and circular economy 

• Recycling and treatment technologies: conversion of biomass, new processes for converting waste into chemical products 

• Biogas production technologies 

• Low environmental impact H2 renewable solutions 

• Advanced biofuel production technologies and synthetic fuels for road, maritime and aviation transport 

• Technical-economic methods for co-processing pyrolysis oils in refining units 

• Low-carbon lubricants for industrial and automotive applications 

• CO2 Capture, Storage and Use Technologies.    

Biotechnology for sustainable energy solutions 

• Protein engineering, development of biocatalysts 

• Deformation optimization by metabolic engineering 

• Environmental Microbiology 

• Conversion of CO2 to chemicals 

• Plastic biodegradation   

 Digital technologies for optimising assets in the energy industry 

• Computational chemistry tools for data-based product creation 

• IoT and robotic solutions for inspection and maintenance of industrial assets 

• Characterisation and modeling of waste for use as raw materials: impact on corrosion and fouling 

 

Solvay 

- Recycling technologies for complex advanced materials such as composites and durable plastics 

- Services for the supply chain management and collection of advanced materials waste, including digital solutions 

- Circular economy concepts for advanced materials, eg cascading use of end of life materials 

- (Bio)Degradable advanced materials 

- Biobased advanced materials 

- Natural flavour and fragrances  

 

Please note that: 

You can apply to multiple challenges via a single application form.