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Throughout history, there have been countless instances where a single individual’s courage and determination to create something new has secured the economic livelihood of many people, sometimes for generations to come. One example of this is the entrepreneur Julius Laux. He invented the process for producing pigmented iron oxide, for example, which the Inorganic Pigments BU still uses to generate revenue today. Laux also tried to develop a new chemical process to produce chromium oxide, but it simply wouldn’t work. This is also normal – not every idea is an instant hit. It often takes time and patience. But on a Monday afternoon – Laux’s nerves were probably already somewhat fried – he is said to have called out: “We’ll give it one last try, but if it doesn’t work, we’ll give up.” But it worked. And IPG still benefits from Laux’s ingenuity today – 98 years later.

Customer-Driven Innovations
But the business unit wasn’t satisfied with the status quo. “Laux laid the foundation, but we didn’t stop there. We continued to develop new products, adapting them to customer requirements and modifying the process to do so,” said Wolfgang Oehlert, Head of Global Technical Operations, IPG BU, in his welcoming speech at the first IPG Innovation Day in Krefeld-Uerdingen at the beginning of September. As a result, the laboratories on the Lower Rhine repeatedly produced innovative products such as Colortherm®, the heat-stable yellow pigments developed specially for use in plastics, and the adsorber materials Bayoxide E33®, used in drinking water treatment.

To this day, IPG is the world’s largest producer of iron oxide pigments.

Battery-Grade Iron Oxides
The founder’s ingenuity and courage still permeate the laboratories and offices of IPG. Murat Gürsoy, Head of Innovation, IPG BU, remains in constant contact with universities and technical colleges, has established partnerships, and finances students’ master’s theses. Of course, always with one question in mind: where else can we use our iron oxides in a meaningful and profitable way? Which areas of business can IPG tap into in the future? He and his team also have their sights set on the fast-growing electric vehicle market. “Thanks to our decades of experience with iron oxides, we have a competitive edge in this field when it comes to expertise.” Initial talks with potential customers have been encouraging. “We offer our iron oxides as what we call Bayoxide battery grades. They have to fulfill certain requirements, such as defined particle size distributions and degrees of purity, and we adapt them to the individual needs of our customers. They are also already field-tested.”

So far, the entire market for LFP cathode materials and the iron phosphate used for LFP synthesis for the growing electric vehicle market is in Asian, particularly Chinese, hands. IPG is now doing something about this – and has received the prestigious 2024 ICIS Innovation Award for the development of its high-quality iron oxides. The award is in the category of “Best Product Innovation from a Large Company” and recognizes the BU’s outstanding contribution to the development of LFP value chains in western regions.

Environmentally Friendly Iron Phosphate
In addition to iron oxides, iron phosphates can also be used as a raw material for LFP cathode active materials. “We could produce iron phosphate with little investment in our existing production lines at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site,” says Gürsoy. In contrast to the current leading producer, China, his team is focusing on an environmentally friendly process that extracts iron phosphate directly from iron and phosphoric acid. This method does not produce any environmentally harmful waste materials. Chinese manufacturers utilize ferrous sulfate, a process that produces highly saline wastewater. This leads to environmental issues. Should the EU decide that iron phosphates produced in this way can no longer be imported, IPG would be ready with its environmentally friendly alternative. “It wouldn’t be easy for Chinese manufacturers to adapt our process. Our many years of experience and wealth of expertise ensure that we can dispose of the exhaust gases safely and in an environmentally friendly manner,” says Gürsoy. This is yet another compelling reason for Western cell and battery manufacturers to set up their own production line.

But Gürsoy is also a scientist and emphasizes: “The evolution of the battery is far from over. Battery technologies and the cathode materials used have developed rapidly. We always have to keep our finger on the pulse in this area.” But there was a bright spot at IPG Innovation Day: the battery from the 3D printer glowed perfectly in Gürsoy’s arm – it contained button cells with iron oxides from IPG.

Innovations as Growth Drivers

The Innovation Excellence Stream promotes innovation activities at LANXESS and encourages every BU to make their own activities visible to employees. “IPG did an exemplary job of this,” says Christian Sturm, head of the Corporate Development GF, who also took part in the IPG Innovation Day in Krefeld-Uerdingen and is responsible for the Innovation Stream. In saying this, he wasn’t only referring to the day itself, but also to the successful innovations that the BU had already achieved. “We see outstanding opportunities for organic growth at IPG through innovation, and this is where we are focusing our efforts.” LANXESS is laser-focused on growing organically in the years ahead. “In this context, innovations will be the growth drivers.”