German chemicals firm Evonik opens flexible lab in Singapore

The hub offers an interactive and collaborative workplace for professional and graduate engineers and scientists.

Germany-based speciality chemicals company Evonik today opened its first research hub for resource efficiency topics in Biopolis, Singapore, which will focus on the areas of functional surfaces and additive manufacturing.

According to an announcement, Evonik picked Singapore for its highly qualified researchers from leading science faculties and quick reaction times of local administration. Claus Rettig, chairman of the board of management, Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, said, "This research hub is ideally located to drive innovation for our Resource Efficiency segment by developing forward-looking solutions and technologies for our clients in all global markets."

The hub offers national and international professionals and graduates – spanning from engineers to scientists – an interactive workplace. Evonik also aims to bring R&D capabilites together through a collaborative lab concept. “With this new hub, we are taking advantage of a new approach to research: Enabling a creative environment for innovations and encouraging agile, flexible working.”

Moreover, the new R&D hub will be the home to Evonik’s 12th project house tissue engineering. "Overall the new hub in Singapore showcases Evonik’s strategic decision to expand the internationalization of its research and development activities," it said.

Evonik Industries deputy chairman Harald Schwager said, “We are actively pursuing new opportunities to boost our international R&D activities and the opening of this research hub is a significant contribution to these efforts. By focusing on promising research areas for the future this hub will strengthen our position as a global leader in speciality chemicals.”

With the research hub, Evonik is expanding its collaboration with public and private research institutions and organizations. Evonik has formed a partnership with Nanyang Technological University Singapore to develop novel technologies in additive manufacturing for industrial application.