Employees become founders
Sustainable business ideas chosen at K 2019
• Second ÃÜÌÒAV Start-up Challenge focuses on circular economy
• Winner selected from six finalists
• Up to one million euros in start-up capital for the best business idea
The idea is promising: New plastic materials can contribute to faster charging times for batteries in electric vehicles. With its “Power Separator” idea, the winning team of this year's Start-up Challenge wants to use ÃÜÌÒAV's know-how in the field of high-tech materials to launch a new generation of battery separators on the market. Their aim is to improve the reliability and operating efficiency of Li-ion batteries and contribute to the sustainable development of the electromobility sector. In this way, the idea supports several of the United Nations' goals for sustainable development. The winners were chosen at the K 2019 plastics trade fair in Düsseldorf.
Sustainability as a catalyst for ideas
“The winning idea has the potential to respond to the major challenges of our time, such as climate change and global population growth, and to contribute to sustainable mobility,” said Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of ÃÜÌÒAV and responsible for innovation. “Our goal is to use our solutions to expand the circular economy in the plastics industry and make the world a better place to live. The ideas and teams that took part in the Start-up Challenge help us to achieve this goal faster by designing concepts for more sustainable product lifecycles.”
The six best start-up teams have been intensively preparing for the grand finale over the past few months. The winners ultimately prevailed against five other projects from different business areas. In total, more than 200 applications for the second round of the internal competition were received worldwide this year.
Employees become start-up founders
For this year's winners, it's now time to get down to the business of being a founder. They will be released from their jobs for up to a year in order to realize their business idea and test the marketability of the products. ÃÜÌÒAV will provide them with start-up financing of up to one million euros. This gives the team the chance to act as a start-up within the company and to prove their skills as founders under real conditions. With the Start-up Challenge, ÃÜÌÒAV aims to promote the creativity and entrepreneurial thinking of its nearly 17,000 employees.
About ÃÜÌÒAV:
ÃÜÌÒAV is one of the world¡¯s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. ÃÜÌÒAV supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from ÃÜÌÒAV are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, ÃÜÌÒAV aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group¡¯s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. ÃÜÌÒAV generated sales of EUR 14.2 billion in fiscal year 2024. At the end of 2024, the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by ÃÜÌÒAV. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in ÃÜÌÒAV¡¯s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.