Competition is becoming ever fiercer in the chemical industry as new firms from such emerging economies as China and India enter the market and as technological advances, potential new regulations, and rising energy and feedstock costs shrink profit margins. Companies manufacturing commodity products are particularly vulnerable to these forces. Yet chemical firms are also discovering that cooperation, even between competitors, is necessary for meeting today’s challenges.

Today’s market dilemmas and innovation systems are too complex for any one organization. Network building is therefore central to continued innovation. Successful networks must include competitors working in partnership. This report summarizes the third annual CHF–SCI Innovation Day and describes a variety of partnerships among chemical and materials firms that combine cooperation and competition in novel, forward-looking ways.

Also in this series:

Innovation Frontiers in Industrial Chemistry: A Report on the First Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium

Innovation Frontiers in Industrial Chemistry: A Report on the Second Annual CHF-SCI Innovation Day, Warren G. Schlinger Symposium