Chemical innovation is at the heart of Europe’s transformation towards a circular and climate-neutral future. Martin Brudermüller, Cefic President discusses how the chemical industry is driving solutions for a more sustainable future.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a global supply crunch in microchips, both the EU and U.S. are now pledging for regional ‘Chips Acts’, intensifying the race for homegrown technology solutions and sovereignty. This example is only one of the latest showing the role of strategic value chains for our society. Whether you look at the supply chains for microchips, battery materials for electric vehicle or medicines, — all of them are heavily relying on chemistry and chemical products. And it is the innovation in these sectors that is core to Europe’s strategic economy and competitiveness. Innovation is the life blood of the chemical industry.
In this Q&A with Cefic President Martin Brudermüller, he describes how the chemical industry is catalyzing solutions and the innovation pathway he’s championing in Europe: not only for current turbulent times but also for the industry’s circular and climate-neutral future.
Q. You have previously said that the success of the EU Green Deal will depend on a raft of new technologies. Which technologies got your attention right now?
A. There are three developments that I’m especially fascinated about, and I believe will have a big impact on the chemical industry in the next decades to come. These are: further digitalization within our industry, circularity, and electrification of chemical processes.
In terms of digitalization, data mining, and analysis, blockchain technology, combined with artificial intelligence, promise better, faster decisions, greater efficiency, and more transparency in our sector — think about predictive toxicology to understand the safety profile of chemicals early on in the research stage, enabling safe by design products!
Coming to circularity, I’ve often said that the chemical industry is uniquely placed to be able to recycle and use it as buildings blocks to make new chemicals and materials. And when we speak about circularity, it’s not just about recycling but also using biomass, using waste, and using CO2 as the feedstock.
English (US) ·