Our worldwide cooperation partners are an integrated part of INEOS Styrolution’s global R&D network. Maintaining strategic partnerships with excellent universities and research institutes all over the world is vital to stay on top of current technological developments and to turn inventions into innovations. All our partners support our global research unit and our regional development network.
Most important for us is the direct exchange with our customers on R&D level to enable joint developments. With our customer centric R&D organization, we constantly develop new ideas and innovative concepts and turn them into solutions strictly along our customers’ needs. Many of our innovations started from a close cooperation between our own and our customers’ R&D specialists.
We organize workshops with major customers in our key industries, leading to a portfolio of prioritized R&D project initiatives. Often, this becomes the starting point for new products. Working together with scientists, customers and suppliers, supported by our global network of cooperation partners is our understanding of open innovation.
Signing the collaboration contract between INEOS Styrolution and the Bayreuth R&D site in November 2013 (clockwise from top left): Prof. Dr. Schmidt (Vice President University of Bayreuth), Prof. Dr. Leible (President University of Bayreuth), Dr. Niessner (Director Global R&D/ IP, INEOS Styrolution) and Prof. Dr. Altstädt (CEO Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH)
Our innovation projects:
Chemical recycling of polystyrene:
The R&D cooperation project “ResolVe” (Chemical recycling of polystyrene) is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research in the program “Plastic in the environment - sources, sinks, solutions“.
The aim of this project is the industrial use of polystyrene waste as a feedstock for new, high-quality polymer products. Compared to the state-of-the-art thermal utilization or mechanical recycling that typically ends up in a so-called „downcycling“ of plastic waste, the target is a real closed loop.
With a new recycling technology, polystyrene waste will be decomposed into its building blocks. The separated and purified styrene monomers may then be used again as raw material in the polymerization process. Thus, high-quality polystyrene can be made from waste.
The project duration is three years, from August 1, 2017 to July 31, 2020. In this project, INEOS Styrolution partners with RWTH Aachen (I.A.R., Department of Processing and Recycling, and IKV, Institute of Plastics Processing), Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH and INEOS Köln GmbH.
INEOS Styrolution has been granted a subsidy of 218.000 €, where the total project subsidy for all project partners is more than 1 Mio €.
Learn more about our fields of research.
Learn more about our strategic cooperation partners:
With the University of Bayreuth, INEOS Styrolution looks back at a long-standing partnership. INEOS Styrolution is focusing its R&D resources in Bayreuth on the next generation of material development to ensure it continues to remain at the forefront of innovation.
Neue Materialien Bayreuth is a non-academic research company developing various novel materials for lightweight constructions, from plastics and fiber-reinforced composites to metals, also including the processing. INEOS Styrolution and NMB cooperated in several projects over the last years.
Research achievements and developments by Fraunhofer LBF have always been synonymous with vibration technology, lightweight structures, reliability and polymer technology. INEOS Styrolution and Fraunhofer LBF work together on new transparent and impact modified UV resistant materials.
Washington State University is a public research university committed to its land-grant heritage and tradition of service to society. INEOS Styrolution and Washington State University work together in the field of wood-plastic composites.
Support of science and research
INEOS Styrolution wants to strengthen the research landscape, especially in polymer science. Therefore, we support the Germany Scholarship (Deutschlandstipendium) by funding high-achieving and committed students.
