Chemspec Europe 2025 review
Climate neutrality, supply chain risks, shortage of skilled workers and digital transformation: Specialty chemicals are facing a whole series of profound changes. If you want to assert yourself in the market in the long term, you must not only meet regulatory requirements or work more efficiently — but also find new ways to drive innovation forward in a targeted manner. Chemspec Europe 2025 at the beginning of June used concrete practical examples and technologies to show how the industry is responding to current challenges — and which developments are influencing the future of industry.
Particularly in focus: the strategic use of data, the integration of AI and the question of how sustainability can become a sustainable growth strategy. The focus was not only on research and development, but also on quality assurance, the transfer of new technologies into industrial application and dealing with regulatory complexity.
Sustainability is becoming a key competitive factor
Sustainability is no longer a sideshow, but is becoming a mainstay of strategic decisions. Pierre-Yves Bolle from Pili provided an example of this, who showed how 100% bio-based aromatic intermediates can be produced in Europe through fermentation — a scalable alternative to petrochemical processes with a significantly reduced CO₂ balance.
Sessions such as “Maximising ROI: Reduce cost through decarbonization” by Tilmann Vahle (Quantis) and Justus Brinkmann (INVERTO, A BCG Company) also made it clear that decarbonization not only makes ecological sense, but can also be economically attractive.
Some companies specifically linked CO₂ reduction targets to the optimization of procurement and production processes — for example through lower-emission precursors or more sustainable supplier management. Specific case studies showed Scope 3 savings of up to 15% — i.e. emissions reductions in the upstream and downstream value chain, outside of in-house production.
In addition, it became clear that technological innovations also play a central role in the sustainability strategy. Green processes such as the use of new adsorption technologies for selective purification — for example to remove persistent pollutants — or the development of more environmentally friendly isocyanates for high-performance materials were the focus of several presentations. These approaches show that sustainable chemistry is not necessarily associated with performance losses — on the contrary: it opens up new applications and market opportunities.
AI penetrates the entire value chain
Where tables used to be analyzed, algorithms are now taking over: Chemspec showed how AI helps to accelerate development processes, control formulations more specifically and make production data usable. One example: LabV showed how material intelligence platforms help to develop formulations faster and more effectively, to control testing processes based on data and to intelligently link production data.
The result: less trial and error, better quality assurance, more efficient processes. LabV showed how material intelligence platforms can speed up development processes and improve quality assurance. Daniel Stroh, responsible for customer strategy at LabV, sums it up: “Our customers are already able to evaluate new formulations twice as fast — not because they experiment more, but because they have the relevant data available at the right time. ”
“Our customers are already able to evaluate new formulations twice as fast — not because they experiment more, but because they have the relevant data available at the right time. ”
AI is also increasingly being used in a targeted manner away from laboratory and development processes — for example in sustainability reporting in accordance with ESG criteria, i.e. when collecting and evaluating environmental, social and governance data. Other fields of application include forecasting emissions, regulatory evaluation of substances and predictive management of supply chains.
At Chemspec, it was noticeable that these applications are increasingly developing from isolated pilot projects to strategically integrated solutions: AI is no longer thought of as a technical add-on, but as part of a networked, automated and sustainable process system.
Pharma & Biopharma: Data drives precision and efficiency
Everything in pharmaceutical fine chemistry is characterized by precision: personalized drugs, biologics, AI-based formulations. The trend towards highly specific, high-purity active ingredients is leading to new requirements for the chemical building blocks — and the processes with which they are manufactured.
AI also plays a central role here: in the selection of drugs, in silico screenings and in predicting synthesis routes. At the same time, biocatalysis and continuous processes (flow chemistry) are becoming increasingly important — in response to increasing quality and efficiency requirements. Martin Schürmann from InnoSyn, for example, showed how virtual screening pipelines, supported by AI and machine learning, can significantly accelerate the development process of chemical reactions. For R&D teams in particular, it is crucial to find the right models — because this is the only way to efficiently simulate and optimize complex reactions. Such in silico processes not only make synthesis routes easier to plan, but also specifically relieve laboratory capacities and conserve resources.
Process intensification: less energy, more selectivity
Industrial chemistry is increasingly required to develop precise, selective and at the same time resource-saving processes. One example of this is the so-called metathesis reaction — a process in which functional groups are selectively exchanged between molecules.
What was previously used primarily on a laboratory scale is now being transferred to an industrial scale. At Chemspec, Dr. Christoph Gütz (Saltigo) showed how this can be achieved in practice — with measurable efficiency gains in the production of highly specific intermediate products. The aim of such processes is to produce sophisticated molecules with high yields and lower energy requirements — for example for pharmaceutical intermediates or specialty chemicals.
Other processes were also highlighted as pioneering at Chemspec: In magnetic catalysis, for example, alternating fields enable direct, controlled heating of the catalyst — which both shortens reaction times and improves energy efficiency. And in the area of purification and wastewater treatment, the focus is on new adsorption materials that can bind stubborn compounds such as PFAS in a targeted manner. Such solutions are becoming increasingly important not only in environmental chemistry but also in pharmaceutical processing.
Regulatory requirements: Different systems, increasing costs
Regulatory requirements in the chemical industry are not only increasing — they are increasingly fragmenting. While companies used to work primarily with the European REACH system, today they must also consider UK-REACH, the Turkish CCDIK and the emerging Ukraine REACH in parallel — each with their own deadlines, obligations and reporting channels. In addition, there are stricter requirements for chemical hazard classification and new environmental and safety standards, for example when dealing with PFAS.
Chemspec made it clear that regulatory adaptability has long been more than just a compliance issue — it is becoming a competitive factor. If you do not react in time, you risk not only delays, but also the loss of regulatory-controlled sales markets. Accordingly, digital tools for managing substance data, safety data sheets and regulatory classifications are becoming increasingly important.
They help you maintain an overview, automate processes and identify risks at an early stage. Dr. Jayachandran Nair (GPC) put it in a nutshell: “Regulatory excellence will determine market access in the future — companies must now strategically consider the digital management of their compliance. ”
New fields of application open up strategic options
Specialty chemicals are currently opening up new markets — driven by technological megatrends such as AI, digitalization and the bioeconomy. Particularly in demand: materials for semiconductor production, smart additives for electronics or sustainable solutions for treating chemical residues. Investors and clusters such as ChemCologne, CLIB and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) are one growth driver. They specifically support start-ups and medium-sized companies in scaling new technologies — such as mechanochemistry, AI-based formulation development or bacteria-based waste treatment.
At the panel on the bioeconomy, the ECBF presented several start-ups that are using AI to develop smart formulations for recycling processes or microplastic-free additives — often faster than established competitors.
Conclusion: The direction is clear — but speed is decisive
Chemspec Europe 2025 has shown that the industry's challenges are complex but not insoluble. The technologies, concepts and networks are there — now it is a matter of using them consistently. Companies that today rely on digital integration, material data and AI-based control are not only gaining an efficiency advantage, but are also better prepared for upcoming regulatory requirements.
With its material intelligence platform, LabV has provided an example of how laboratory, process and measurement data can be brought together in such a way that innovation is accelerated, quality is ensured and development costs are reduced. That is not a promise — it is a realizable reality.
Because in the end, it is not who has the most data — but who understands, links and acts on it.