BASF goes electronically organic

How many people does it take to cut a ribbon? Or, to put the question another way, how can you embarrass a lot of people in one easy move? BASF has found the answer with an excruciating picture of six people opening a new laboratory dedicated to organic electronics.

 

The picture appears with a press release announcing the opening of the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) in Ludwigshafen, BASF's home base, on 11 September. The release tells us that "BASF will conduct research at the JIL with both industrial and academic partners into new materials in the field of organic electronics."

 

This venture is another of those activities where the German Federal government is chipping in a share of the costs. (They announced a similar deal earlier this year, on catalysis.) The lab will also involve various unnamed partners including "industrial companies and researchers from prestigious universities and research institutes in Germany and abroad". In all, "20 BASF experts and cooperation partners will work at the new laboratory".

 

Like others, BASF sees a bright future in organic electronics. The release quotes explained Dr Stefan Marcinowski, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF and Research Executive Director: “By utilizing JIL, BASF is making organic electronics a key issue in its growth cluster energy management and nanotechnology.”