BASF Continues Buildout of Innovation Campus

German chemicals and materials manufacturer BASF announced Tuesday that it has broken ground on the third phase of its Innovation Campus Shanghai. During the project, the Germany-based company will add a research and development building and a structure that will house an R&D workshop.

“Innovations have made BASF the leading chemical company and they are the key driver for our profitable organic growth,” Dr. Jeffrey Lou, president, Advanced Materials & Systems Research for BASF, said in a company release. “We are increasing our R&D presence in Asia, intensifying our open innovation activities and strengthening our capabilities to meet the needs of our customers in Asia and across the globe.”

The company said the project will increase its innovation capabilities for advanced materials and chemical engineering in China and the Asia Pacific region.

Along with the addition of the new buildings in Shanghai, BASF is assembling an academic sounding board that will be part of the Network for Asian Open Research (NAO), a joint platform between BASF and 12 universities and institutes in the Asia Pacific region. The group in Shanghai will provide professional consultancy for R&D efforts, identify industry trends, and support collaboration between the company and universities.

Since it was established in 2014, NAO has completed over 70 joint projects in a variety of research areas, including monomers, polymers, surfaces and interfaces, coatings, catalysis, battery materials, and chemical and process engineering.

“The further expansion of the R&D capabilities at the Innovation Center Shanghai provide excellent support to our business operations, which strengthens the position of BASF a preferred local innovation partner,” said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, president and chairman Greater China for BASF, in a statement.