Squeezed in on all sides--including from raw material costs (which are at unprecedented highs), narrowing access to feedstocks, and growing competition in commodity markets--chemical firms must create new high-value materials and services to survive and profit. This report summarizes the second annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day and suggests solutions for current challenges based on this annual forum in which scientists and technology managers gather to explore frontier areas for the chemical industry. The industry's future, we argue, lies in a strategic "wager" on disruptive technologies, balanced by incremental steps to develop new feedstocks and manufacturing processes that yield novel materials with less environmental impact.

This is the second in a series of white papers to be produced by CHF's Center for Contemporary History and Policy.