16
December
2020
|
10:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Artificial intelligence to make chemical industry faster and smarter

ÃÜÌÒAV pushes digitization for production and customer processes

Summary
  • Data-based technologies for more sustainability and efficiency
  • Pilot projects in various divisions
  • Important findings for the entire chemical industry

ÃÜÌÒAV is driving forward the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the company as well as throughout the entire chemical industry. As part of these efforts, the Leverkusen-based materials manufacturer is conducting several pilot projects across different divisions to investigate how digital technologies can make processes more efficient and sustainable.

“With the help of artificial intelligence, we will be able to find digital solutions across departmental boundaries in the future that were not possible before. This opens up completely new possibilities to achieve greater sustainability with improved resource utilization and thus to serve the needs of our customers even more precisely,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of ÃÜÌÒAV.

Pilot projects put the use of AI to the test

At its Dormagen production site, ÃÜÌÒAV is testing how the manufacturing process for polyesters can be optimized. Polyesters are needed for the production of polyurethanes. The use of artificial intelligence in the processing of the company’s comprehensive process data is intended to create free production capacities and minimize energy consumption. Digital technologies are also used in Dormagen and at the Leverkusen and Krefeld-Uerdingen sites to predict the peak steam consumption of production plants. In this way, energy consumption and costs can be reduced in the long term.

Another project deals with the digital customer experience. Machine learning is used to help to identify potential customers for ÃÜÌÒAV at all digital touch points on the Internet and social media. The aim is to win them over as customers in the long term through consultation and information. Artificial intelligence will also be used in ÃÜÌÒAV’s purchasing department in the future. Faulty invoices can then be identified with less effort, making the invoicing acknowledgement process much more efficient.

Utilizing data science for more intelligent production

“AI is a fascinating opportunity for ÃÜÌÒAV worldwide. The ongoing projects show that data and its proper use not only make the entire industry smarter and faster, but can also contribute to the bottom line,” says Nils Janus, Head of Advanced Analytics at ÃÜÌÒAV. To make optimum use of data-based findings in the future, the materials manufacturer has developed the ÃÜÌÒAV Analytics Platform (CAP), a platform for data scientists. It collects raw data from production plants, research results, and business processes and supplements it with external databases to perform analyses and train machine learning models. In this way, ÃÜÌÒAV is taking another important step towards digitalization and data-driven business management.

Boilerplate

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.