Evonik is pooling its expertise and integrating its alkoxides business into the Catalysts business line thereby providing an extensive portfolio of heterogeneous catalysts and is thus now complemented by homogeneous catalysts.

An international network of production sites and the highly experienced alkoxides team will additionally strengthen the Catalysts business line, one of Evonik's growth areas, from January 2023.

The chemical industry is undergoing a profound transformational process. Driven primarily by sustainability issues such as the circular economy, CO2 reduction or decarbonization, catalysts are at the heart of this transformation, as they are needed for approximately 80 percent of all chemical processes.

The internal integration supports transformation of the chemical industry as well as the Catalysts expansion strategy on the way to becoming a leading global catalyst supplier for the chemical industry.

"Currently, the global market for catalysts is very fragmented," said Business Line Manager Sanjeev Taneja.

"Against this backdrop, we continue our growth journey by providing innovative catalysts and adsorbents delivering sustainable customer value. We are gradually expanding our product and service portfolio in the direction of Next Generation Solutions - be it through targeted acquisitions or strategic collaborations thus enabling our customers to master their own transformation. And we do this by offering catalysts that enable new sustainable production processes, products and applications. The integration of the alkoxides will boost our efforts,” aded Taneja. 

The main application of alkoxides is the production of sustainable biodiesel fuel from vegetable oils, used cooking oils or other fat-based waste. The use of alkoxides optimizes the process toward the highest possible yield of feedstock. In the synthesis of active ingredients and fine chemicals, alkoxides also find numerous applications in the life science industry.

One particularly promising prospect for alkoxides is the chemical recycling of PET plastic. Evonik is currently working with partners to split the polymer chains into the original monomers and thus regenerate the chemical building blocks that were used at the start of plastics production. These components can then be used to produce new polymers again for high-quality applications.

The Alkoxides business is managed as a separate product line within the Catalysts Business Line, and will be managed by Alexander Weber, a proven executive from the Alkoxides business and is being reported as part of Smart Materials division as of 1st January 2023. In Fiscal 2021, it generated a turnover of around €300 million.

"The merger is logical, and not the last step on our common path. By combining various functions such as research and development at the Hanau site, our core competencies and experience will be bundled and we will work in an even more targeted manner and learn from each other - in terms of specific products as well as supporting customer-related processes such as supply chain and digitalization," says Weber. 

Services to our customers of the joint business area continue to meet their expectations. From the quality and delivery of products to the regional sales channels, the existing processes, structures and contacts will remain the same. From July 2023, there will be a joint market presence.

Evonik wants to make a significant contribution to the transformation of the chemical industry by making technologies faster, more efficient and cheaper. The integration will support this.