BASF starts work on R&D center in Shanghai

BASF, the world's leading chemical company, broke ground on Wednesday on the second phase of its innovation campus at the Pudong site in Shanghai in order to support its growth industries in Asia Pacific.

The 90-million-euro ($123 million) expansion consists of an additional regional research and development building and auxiliary facilities and it will be completed by the end of 2015, said Andreas Kreimeyer, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

"The expansion will reinforce BASF's commitment to globalizing its R&D activities and capturing growth opportunities in China and Asia Pacific," Kreimeyer said.

He said by 2020, around 25 percent of BASF's R&D employees will be located in Asia Pacific.

The innovation campus, BASF's most important R&D center in the region, is expected to become one of its largest R&D sites outside of Germany. With the expansion, BASF's regional research capabilities will be further strengthened, said Kreimeyer, also research executive director of BASF.

"The campus has proven to be an effective platform that not only responds quickly to market needs in China and Asia Pacific, but also connects BASF with the science community in Asia Pacific," said Martin Brudermuller, vice chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

Eighteen months after its inauguration, the campus has strengthened BASF's position as the preferred innovation partner for customers in the region. Leveraging local market insights and BASF's strong global R&D network, the teams focus on innovative solutions to address the market needs in various industries across the region, he said.

In Asia, in addition to the campus in Shanghai, BASF also has R&D centers in Japan, Singapore and Korea. An Innovation Campus in India is also planned, he added.

BASF increased global spending on research and development to 1.8 billion euros in 2013, with around 10,650 scientists and researchers working in 3,000 research projects. With 1,300 patents filed last year and about 151,000 registrations and intellectual property rights worldwide, BASF is at the top of the global Patent Asset Index for the fifth time in succession.