BYK Defoamer Development Earns ALTANA Innovation Award
An interdisciplinary team from BYK has received the ALTANA Innovation Award 2025/2026 for developing a new generation of defoamers for paints and coatings.
The additives are designed to prevent unwanted foam during coatings production while offering improved environmental performance. ALTANA said the technology contributes to the sustainability and long-term development of BYK’s portfolio and has already been launched commercially.
The award-winning team includes Alexander Gers-Barlag, Sven Tenbusch, Volker Thyssen-Wallner and Annika Winkelhausen.
ALTANA evaluates nominated projects based on factors including innovation, creativity, cost-effectiveness and sustainability. The company presented the award during its international Innovation Conference on June 25 at its headquarters in Wesel, Germany.
The conference brings together ALTANA researchers and developers from around the world to highlight technical developments across the specialty chemicals group.
ALTANA invests approximately 7% of annual sales in research and development. The company increased R&D spending to €216 million in 2025, which it described as a new record and more than twice the chemical industry’s average R&D ratio.
BYK supplies additives and testing instruments for coatings, printing inks, plastics, adhesives, sealants and other industrial markets. The company is part of the ALTANA Group and employs more than 2,700 people worldwide.
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