Henkel Awards for research and technology invention

Finally, eight interdisciplinary project teams were chosen to receive the coveted prize.

 The jurors of the Research/Technology Invention Award 2007 found it no easy task to pick the winners among more than 20 highly promising projects. The diversity of the inventions reflects the powerful research capabilities within Henkel and the broad scope of its scientific base.

Although to many they are simply articles of daily use, high-performance laundry detergents, household cleaners, cosmetics, and adhesives rely strongly on the results of research into innovative key technologies. These range from white biotechnology, molecular biology, nanotechnology, material sciences and chemistry to digital image processing and other engineering disciplines. This diversity was also demonstrated by the eight project teams that were honored with the Research/Technology Invention Award 2007.

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Management Board of Henkel KGaA, and Dr. Wolfgang Gawrisch, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Research/Technology, presented the awards to the research teams during a ceremony in Düsseldorf on January 21. In selecting the winning projects, the jury based its decision mainly on the far-reaching benefits for customers and consumers as well as the degree of inventiveness.

“When large-scale research projects result in new brands and technologies or improvements that bring significant and tangible benefits to customers and consumers, this is clear proof of exceptional research and development work,” said Lehner, praising the award-winners. “At the same time, the projects honored here show that the Years of Innovation launched Henkel-wide in 2006 have inspired our people to take a fresh look at familiar topics and to strike out into completely new research areas.”

Gawrisch emphasized the importance of today’s key technologies for innovative research: “In the fields relating to Henkel’s core domains, our industrial researchers and developers can rival the top researchers in the academic world.” The winners of the Research/Technology Invention Award 2007 also showed that “outstanding results can only be achieved when experts look beyond their own horizons and use their knowledge to network intelligently in interdisciplinary teams.”

The winning projects in this year’s Research/Technology Invention Award are:

Multifunctional Hydrogel coatings

The HydroSTELLAN® modular system allows surface properties, such as water run-off, dirt- and bacteria-repellence, to be modified to a previously unknown extent.

Low-temperature proteases

With a new screening system and gene-technology methods, Henkel scientists have discovered an enzyme for liquid laundry detergents that delivers better performance in cold washes at below 20 degrees Celsius than the currently used enzymes.

Controlled release of fragrances

Novel chemical fragrance classes make fragrances linger significantly longer and permit the creation of new fragrances.

New raw materials class for labeling adhesives

A new class of synthetic polymers paves the way for cost-efficient and powerful alternatives to existing labeling adhesives.

Morphology control in benzoxazine polymers

Novel resin composites with improved properties open up new applications in areas such as aircraft manufacturing.

Life cycle management for hair – forever young hair

With a unique, fully automatic test system, researchers simulate external hair aging at an accelerated rate and provide new approaches for hair cosmetics.

Mature hair – technologies for anti-aging hair care

Using a combination of in-vitro and in-vivo test methods, differences in mature hair were identified and ingredients found to fight aging of the hair.

QVis – Optical process and quality control in filling lines

New image processing technologies open up new possibilities for process and quality optimization in filling lines.

In-house awards for outstanding research results and innovations have a long tradition at Henkel. The Fritz Henkel Award for Innovation has been presented annually since 1982 for innovative processes and products that have achieved exceptional market success. With the Research/Technology Invention Award, which was instituted in 2004, Henkel additionally honors excellent research work, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary cooperation.