Research & Development

WACKER’s research and development (R&D) activities pursue three goals:

• We contribute to our customers’ market success by searching for solutions that meet their needs.
• We optimize our methods and processes in order to lead in technology and be sustainably profitable.
• We concentrate on creating innovative products and applications for new markets and on supporting highly promising fields, such as energy storage, renewable energy generation, electromobility, modern construction and biotechnology.

WACKER’s R&D rate – research and development spending as a percentage of Group sales – reached 3.5 percent, rising versus 2018 (3.3 percent) because research activities increased.

In 2019, we filed 99 patent applications (2018: 87). Worldwide, our portfolio contains about 4,200 active patents, with 1,600 patent applications currently pending. We license very little R&D know-how from third parties. The results of our research partnerships with universities are usually made available to us free of charge or by the transfer of rights of use.

We invested in new labs, equipment and tools to digitalize and automate work processes, such as digital technologies for measuring and analytics. We constructed lab and pilot reactors at the Burghausen site, at WACKER POLYMERS in South Korea and at Corporate R&D in Munich.

Investments in R&D Facilities

€ million

The development of products and production methods accounted for a large part of our R&D costs. WACKER is active in many highly promising fields. The key ones range from energy recovery and storage, electronics, automotive and construction, to household products, medicine, health care, cosmetics, food and biotechnology.

Breakdown of R&D Expenditures in 2019

%

The aim of our New Solutions initiative is to develop technically and commercially superior solutions for new applications. We combine our expertise from across the company and apply it where needed.

Some of our research projects are subsidized by government grants. During the reporting period, these subsidized projects were centered on ongoing development of lithium-ion batteries.

Research and Development at Two Levels

WACKER conducts R&D at two levels: centrally at our Corporate R&D department and locally at our business divisions, where the focus is on specific applications. Corporate R&D coordinates activities on a company-wide basis and involves other departments. Further, we use Project System Innovation (PSI) software to steer the Group’s product and process innovations by systematically evaluating customer benefit, sales potential, profitability and technology position.

Strategic Collaboration with Customers and Research Institutes

We collaborate with customers, scientific institutes and universities to achieve research successes more quickly and efficiently. These partnerships cover topics that include electricity storage, construction applications, as well as process simulation and development.

Back in 2006, Wacker Chemie AG joined forces with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to establish the WACKER Institute of Silicon Chemistry, located on TUM’s Garching research campus near Munich, and has funded the institute ever since.

Research Work at WACKER

In 2019, WACKER had 766 R&D staff (2018: 728), accounting for 5.2 percent of the Group’s workforce (2018: 5.0 percent). Of these, 594 were employed at R&D units in Germany and 172 abroad.

Alexander Wacker Innovation Award

The Alexander Wacker Innovation Award, a €10,000 prize bestowed since 2006, is presented at the annual WACKER Innovation Days research symposium. The 2019 award was conferred on two employees for developing CAVACURMIN^®. This dietary supplement contains the turmeric extract curcumin, which exhibits anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. As it is not water-soluble, curcumin is not readily absorbed in the human bloodstream. It can be used by the body much more easily when encapsulated within the ring-shaped sugar molecules of cyclodextrins.

Selected Corporate R&D Research Topics

We are performing research into the use of sustainable raw materials to reduce carbon emissions even further. Together with WACKER POLYMERS and WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, Corporate R&D is studying new biodegradable vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) products.

One focus of our basic research is chemistry of low-valence silicon for use in industrial applications (such as catalysis and synthesis). In this area, we are working very closely with the WACKER Institute of Silicon Chemistry at TUM.

We are intensifying our research into silicon-based high-capacitance anode materials and, to that end, acquired a 24.99-percent stake in UK-based Nexeon Ltd. Together with this partner, we are promoting the use of silicon batteries in different cell configurations in areas such as consumer electronics and electric vehicles.

Another research focus is a new generation of ESETEC^® strains for the production of biopharmaceuticals, which grants our customers precise control over the release of specific proteins from a micro-organism cell at a specific point in the production process. We are scaling these ESETEC^® strains to full production and conducting tests to see if they can be used to make plasmid bacteria for pharmaceutical purposes.

We are using digital models to enhance our already highly optimized L-cystine strains in order to raise product yields for our customers. On top of that, we are developing a procedure for enzymatic conversion of L-cystine to L-cysteine without chemical electrolysis. Free of animal products, these amino acids are used by our customers in sectors such as the food industry and cosmetics.

Selected Divisional Research Projects

Researchers at WACKER SILICONES are working on concepts to use electroactive silicones in multilayered systems for sensors and actuators. The division has refined its antifoam agents – which customers use in the production of paper and liquid detergents – and is manufacturing them in pilot facilities using new technologies. For cosmetic products, we have developed hydrophilic and oleophilic elastomer gels that offer our customers new formulation options and can be tailored precisely to the specific products they are developing.

Products containing silicone resins are increasingly important in new application fields. One example is resin-modified organic polymer dispersions, which make wood coatings more resistant to UV radiation and weathering. Such products with a resin component improve the surfaces of smooth materials.

Raw materials for concrete and mortar are in short supply globally, with high-quality mixes often having to be transported over long distances. Renovations are made even more complicated when buildings are damaged by regular exposure to damp and salts. WACKER has developed silicone additives that significantly inhibit or even prevent the alkali-silica reaction that damages the building fabric. These additives allow concrete producers to use more locally available materials, thus making transport routes shorter.

In India, we have developed an additive based on organically modified silanes. Our customers use it to produce hydrophobic cement, which flows more freely even in the heat and humidity of tropical countries and protects buildings from the ingress of moisture once it is mixed to make mortar or concrete. Silicone-treated cement of this kind has enhanced properties and can be produced using less energy.

At WACKER POLYMERS, one focus of research is on sustainable functional polymer binders for use in the construction industry and in many consumer goods. We are continually improving products that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while also enabling the use of sustainable formulation components in a wide variety of materials. Another focus is on renewable raw materials and functional polymer additives for manufacturing biodegradable materials. In the reporting period, we launched functionalized polymer dispersions, dispersible polymer powders and polymer resins that our customers use to manufacture enhanced dispersion paints and high-performance composite materials. We also introduced adhesives and cementitious building materials for sustainable applications in the construction industry.

Research at WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS is geared to strengthening the division’s expertise in biotechnology and microbiology. We are working on new and improved manufacturing processes for high-quality functional substances to be used in food and nutritional supplements. For our biopharmaceutical customers, we are developing our ESETEC^® production platform to enable its use in the manufacture of pharmaceutical proteins that are not easily accessible. With cyclodextrins, we are refining applications for industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture.

In the field of solar modules, huge technological progress is being made at every step of the value chain. Cell efficiency is also rising continually. The highest cell efficiencies are attainable only with the kind of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon that WACKER POLYSILICON produces. Reference studies such as the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) show efficiencies of over 22 percent for monocrystalline solar cells produced with PERC (passivated emitter rear cell) technology. Efficiency is a measure of how much of the radiant energy absorbed by a solar cell is transformed into electricity. High-efficiency monocrystalline cells (such as heterojunction or interdigitated back contact solar cells) achieve efficiencies of 22–24 percent. High-performance segments like these require WACKER-quality polysilicon.