Research Press Briefing 2025

How do you transform textile waste into high-quality fashion of the future? Dr. Dag Wiebelhaus, Head of Global Product Innovation Monomers, explains in his presentation, how innovative circular economy solutions are revolutionizing the fashion industry. He also explores how advanced recycling processes are making a genuine circular economy possible in the apparel sector, and how, thanks to loopamid^®, high-quality new fibres with significantly lower CO₂ emissions can be produced from old textiles.

Hydrogen plays a central role in the chemical industry. It is the smallest and lightest element and is not only an indispensable raw material for the chemical sector but also a key energy carrier for the future. To produce hydrogen cost-effectively and with a significantly reduced CO₂ footprint, BASF is working on new technologies. Since 2021, BASF has operated a test facility for methane pyrolysis. The next step now follows: together with ExxonMobil, this is being further developed into an industrial solution, with the aim of creating a demonstration plant for industrial production. Find out more about the latest developments in the lecture by Dr. Marie Katrin Schroeter, Head of Scale-up & Process Development Catalysts & Solids.

With the new X3D^® catalyst shaping technology, BASF has achieved a technological breakthrough in additive catalyst manufacturing. The innovative technology is based on 3D printing and enables the production of catalysts with customised geometric shapes, delivering optimised performance and efficiency. After a long period without any groundbreaking innovations in the field of catalyst manufacturing, Dr. Christian Schulz, New Business Development and Sustainability Manager, Global Chemical Catalysts & Adsorbents, presents a milestone in catalyst development.

Herbicide-resistant weeds are threatening cotton yields for farmers worldwide. To address this, BASF researchers have developed two innovative herbicide-tolerant traits for cotton seed. The development process focused on specific enzymes, known as 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases (HPPD). Learn from Dr. Lorenzo Aleman-Sarinana, Head of Seed Technologies & Analytics Labs, how cutting-edge biotechnology is making cotton cultivation in the USA and Brazil more sustainable and future-proof.