Innovation
As a business, we discuss innovation, experience it from different perspectives, and take our learnings to our plants, labs, and offices to implement anew. Globally, we constantly attempt to create change through innovation by thinking differently, collaborating effectively, and continuing to live our purpose to #ShareTheStrength with our stakeholders, customers, suppliers, and the communities in which we operate. We believe every person strengthens the other just as one idea sharpens another.
Our culture of innovation
Innovation is embedded throughout our business, motivating us as we strive for continuous improvement. We leverage partnerships and explore new design processes to constantly expand the potential of our product. Our customers say that our carbon black identification technology is the best on the market, and we gladly share our process with them.
Cutting-edge facilities support cutting-edge thinking
To ensure we remain at the cutting edge of our industry, we depend on scientists and engineers who are dedicated to taking us forward. We therefore provide our scientists with state-of-the-art research facilities, bringing together our Research and Development (R&D) and Manufacturing teams from around the world. Our two principal R&D Centers in Taloja (Maharashtra, India) and Marietta (Georgia, USA) are supported by satellite laboratories around the world. We recognize that innovative thinking supports sustainability, helping us achieve our goals and share progress along the way. We aim to further develop our products to advance circularity.
Read about our culture of innovation (PDF, 13.7 MB) in our report.
Inviting innovation from everyone
Our innovation program has continued to grow from its inception in 2019 to present, and to drive this continued engagement, Birla Carbon went BiiG in FY2023. The Birla International Innovation Gathering (BiiG) concept emerged from our Purpose to Share the Strength and our innovation challenge. To build on the momentum of the event, we have continued to go BiiG during our roadshow campaign. The BiiG Show will engage employees across all levels of the organization, inspire them to be the leaders of tomorrow and safeguard the future of our organization by demonstrating our innovation spirit and mindset. Going forward, our Innovation Ambassador Network (IAN) will be an integral part of driving a sustainable culture of innovation at Birla Carbon. The network is made up of 23 individuals from diverse functional areas and locations. These champions of innovation serve as representatives for their sites and will help shape the business of tomorrow.
Sharing the strength – our partnerships
Through establishing partnerships, with a view to long-term positive impact, we utilize both expert knowledge and industry experience to create sustainable products for our customers.
Connected Helmet
Our plant in Spain (Santander) implemented the Connected Helmet Innovation Project in January 2024. This device is attached to the operator’s helmet. The device can locate an employee and send a warning when something unusual happens to them (dead man system). Moreover, it grants access to specific rooms like electrical substations and other features that can be programmed when needed. The project has yielded many benefits including enabling the plant to monitor and mobilize resources faster, due to the geolocating technology.
Seawater Scrubbing
Since FY2022, we have implemented a novel technology to remove sulfur oxides (SOx) using seawater. Birla Carbon USA (North Bend) hosts this technology. North Bend is proximal to the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Intracoastal waterway, a viable water source to operationalize this innovative process. Through this approach, we avoid landfilling millions of pounds of gypsum, a solid waste produced as a byproduct of the wet flue gas desulfurization process.
Atex Tablets
During maintenance operations, our technicians need a continuous telephone/radio connection with the control room to get information about issues related to the instrumentation in the field, they also need approval from the control room to carry out certain operations on the equipment involved to test its correct restoration. When our Atex tablets are connected to the local network, it enables autonomous technician function. This helps operators avoid miscommunications and improve information sharing.
The innovation project was implemented in March 2023 by our plant in Italy (Trecate). After a year, the project has proven useful in field activities. The tablets are integrated with our current infrastructure, enabling a seamless interaction between available field technologies.
We are investing more in these research channels to proactively address challenges our customers may face in the future. Our three principal R&D Centers are in Belgium (Sambreville), India (Taloja), and the United States (Marietta).
Our solutions for the electric vehicles
Energy efficiency
Power density
Charging speed
These batteries could be used in the next generation of electric vehicles, in grid storage systems to improve the efficiency of wind farms or for home energy storage. Birla Carbon’s participation at The Battery Show in Michigan 2021 affirmed our entry into the Energy Systems market. We presented a portfolio of conductive carbon solutions and launched our Conductex i™ and Conductex e™ series of products for lithium ion and lead acid battery applications. These high-performance batteries can unlock 5-15% energy savings, enabled by highly engineered conductive carbon black.
By expanding in markets such as batteries, tire materials, inks and plastics, we can increase value for both our business and our customers.
