Innovation

Innovations based on chemistry play a pivotal role in overcoming the greatest challenges of our time. Our activities are aimed at improving and developing new products and processes, further increasing our competitiveness and enabling our customers’ green transformation.

Innovations are one of the essential factors in BASF’s success. The knowledge and skills of our highly qualified employees are our most valuable resources and the source of our innovative strength. In 2025, approximately 9,000 employees (2024: approximately 10,000) worldwide were working in research and development (R&D).¹

In 2025, we generated sales of around €11 billion (2024: around €11 billion) with products launched on the market in the past five years that stemmed from research and development activities.² In the long term, we aim to further increase sales and earnings with new and improved products and processes.

Our research and development expenses amounted to €1,995 million in 2025 (2024: €1,969 million). R&D activities in our operating divisions, which are mainly application- and customer-related, accounted for 87% of this figure (2024: 86%). Cross-divisional and strategic topics were responsible for 13% (2024: 14%) of these expenses.²

Our innovation focus encompasses the development of new products and solutions as well as product and process improvements that ensure our long-term competitiveness and enable our customers’ green transformation. Another focus is on innovation for more sustainable agriculture.

By using resources more efficiently, manufacturing our products in a more environmentally friendly way and helping to recycle them, we support our customers in reducing their carbon footprint. At the same time, we contribute to decoupling growth from the consumption of limited resources. In the area of electromobility, we develop materials for batteries and electric powertrains in close cooperation with vehicle manufacturers to enable safer and more efficient driving. We are also pursuing innovative technologies in catalyst manufacturing that enable customized, particularly high-performance catalysts to be produced. To help farmers control resistant weeds, we are investing in the development of herbicide-tolerant cotton traits. In addition, we are working on novel production processes that significantly improve the manufacturing of detergent enzymes. We are researching circular solutions for textiles, biodegradable polymers for home and personal care applications, as well as biodegradable UV absorbers for sunscreens, thus supporting our customers in achieving their sustainability goals. At the same time, we are working on new process innovations such as methane pyrolysis, a virtually emission-free process for producing hydrogen.

Research and development expenses by segment 2025³

Our research and development units explicitly address the industryspecific needs of our customers. Customer-focused activities are directly integrated into the operating divisions.

Research activities that are relevant to several operating divisions are bundled in the crossfunctional global division Group Research, which supports the R&D activities of the operating divisions. Corporate funding is used to finance Group Research projects that are of strategic relevance to the BASF Group and go beyond the industry-specific focus of the individual operating divisions. These include process innovations for our green transformation, the circular economy of our products, as well as digital tools. The unit is globally positioned with research centers in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.

The number and quality of our patents demonstrate our innovative power and our long-term competitiveness. In 2025, we filed 898 new patents worldwide (2024: 1,159). Of these, 45% (2024: 44.5%) were for innovations with a particular focus on sustainability. The Patent Asset Index, a method that compares patent portfolios, once again ranked us among the leading companies in the chemical industry in 2025.²

Global presence

Our global research and development presence – and its effectiveness – is vital to our long-term success. This enables us to respond to the needs and requirements of the regional markets in a differentiated way, establish strong customer relationships and leverage potential in growth markets. The largest site in our Research and Development Verbund is Ludwigshafen in Germany.

Our global network of top universities, research institutes and companies gives us direct access to external scientific expertise, talented minds from various disciplines as well as new technologies. This strengthens our Research and Development Verbund and makes BASF an even more attractive partner and employer. In 2025, we collaborated with multiple companies as well as with 269 (2024: 260) universities and research institutes.²

1 Number of employees including employees of the discontinued coatings business

2 The discontinued coatings business is not included in the 2025 figures and is included in the 2024 figures.

3 Excluding the discontinued coatings business