Research, Development and Innovation

ICL’s Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) activities support ICL’s growth strategy. Their main objective is enabling New Product Sales (NPS) and new business creation. Developments encompass products, formulations and processes. Development activities are carried out in the company’s RD&I centers around the world and in external labs in universities, research institutes and start-ups in collaborative RD&I projects. A thorough analysis of market and customer needs precede strategic research projects. ICL continuously searches for new uses to ICL’s core minerals and their derivatives. \

Our core RD&I activities support each of our business segments, while the longer term strategic projects, digital platforms and technological solutions for farmers and agronomists are coordinated at the corporate level. ICL drives collaborations with companies offering innovative technologies in the fields of crop nutrition and agronomy in general with the goal to introduce and integrate new digital solutions for the agricultural world by utilizing, among other things, external knowledge and platforms.

OUR R&D EXPENSES

Fields of RD&I include:

Crop nutrition: nutrient use efficiency, biodegradable coatings for controlled release fertilizers; biostimulants, nutrient sensing technologies; growth enhancers; nitrogen fixation for crops.

Food Specialties: texture improvement, stabilization, salt reduction, shelf-life extension, meatless and alternative proteins.

Energy Solutions: energy storage; lithium battery recycling.

Advanced Materials: flame retardants; paints & coatings additives; industrial water treatment.

Circular economy: waste to Product; recycling; efficiency improvement using ICL’s minerals and chemistries.

Industry 4.0: IoT (Internet of Things) in manufacturing, safety and environment; machine learning and artificial intelligence for manufacturing optimization and product development.

Agro Digital platform:

ICL is in the process of developing an open digital platform, integrating multiple precision-ag technologies for agriculture professionals with partners’ data.

9.4

By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities.

RD&I Activities

These are some of the RD&I activities ICL currently focusing on:

ICL Industrial Products Division

New flame retardants for printed wire boards: Development of new phosphorus‑based solutions for PWB.
Flame retardants for polyurethanes: development of new phosphorus‑based solutions and integrated phosphorus/bromine solutions as flame retardants for the polyurethane market (flexible and rigid foam).The VeriQuel™ F series, is a new flexible halogen free active flame retardant for flexible polyurethane being launched to the market and VeriQuel™R100, new reactive phosphorus-based flame retardant for rigid insulation foams in building and construction markets.
Textiles & Adhesives: Continuing development & sales of the TexFRons® series. Sustainable & durable flame-retardant products for textile & adhesives replacing former flame‑retardant products. The series includes polymeric flame retardants that are “Oeko‑Tex®” certified that also allow ATO free FR solutions.
Energy storage: continued development of bromine‑based energy storage solutions for Br-Battery companies, using diverse compounds.
Biocides: continued development of new materials for water treatment and prevention of biofilm in industrial water cooling systems and pulp & paper plants including the use of signaling molecules as a non-biocidal additive to prevent biofilm.
Magnesia-based products: development of formulations in order to fulfil unmet needs in the markets, such as replacing aluminum components in deodorants and zinc oxide in several consumer products.
Support of production: improving product quality, production cost, energy savings, recycling and waste treatment. Changing and improving processes while using the principles of green chemistry.
Troubleshooting and equipment maintenance cycle improvement, using better construction materials, preventing accelerated corrosion, wear and tear, and equipment adaptation.

Magnesia-based products: CareMag D, developed by ICL, is already marketed by a leading international cosmetics company and another in the process of being launched. This product won the bronze medal for innovation in the last In‑Cosmetics International conference.

7.1

By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy.

ICL Potash and Magnesium Division

Activities of efficiency and synergy measures in order to increase potash production and reducing cost per tonne at the potash and magnesium plants in Sdom.
Advancement of research regarding environmental protection, including the development of methods for treating and reducing effluents.

Granular Polysulphate – optimization of the process in two aspects: output and quality, as well as implementation of a new organic coating.

ICL Phosphate Solutions Division

The segment continues to check the adaptation of various potential types of phosphate rock for the production of phosphoric acid and its downstream products as part of an effort to utilize and increase existing phosphate reserves. In 2020, the Company will further analyze additional types of phosphate including: R&D, pilots, plant testing activities and other economic feasibility assessments.
Research regarding environmental protection, including development of methods for treating and reducing effluents.
Development of applications for water conservation and improving the availability of fertilizers around the root.
Continued diversification of product portfolio for meat substitutes. In this context, ICL is planning to expand its manufacturing capacity and R&D support capabilities for its ROVITARIS® alternative protein technology for the meat alternatives market.
The development of paint additives for enhancing scratch and abrasion resistance for application in UV cured paints in floor and kitchen panels is in progress as planned.

ROVITARIS® is a proprietary technology developed by ICL, that supports the production of allergen free plant-based food. Using ROVITARIS® technology, food manufacturers can create plant-based meat alternatives. In late 2019, ICL's Rovitaris® technology won the Food Ingredients Europe Innovation Award in the protein category. ICL is the first company to launch the fava bean technology as a new alternative protein solution in the meatless category.

Innovative Ag Solutions

Main targets:

Upgrading the product portfolio with new product formulations; Mainly tailored formulations based on customer demand.
Development of improved production options for HiPeak.
Development of controlled‑release NPK fertilizers with a quicker, fully degradable coating.
Development of applications for water conservation and improving the availability of fertilizers around the root.
Initiation and development of new technologies to increase nutrient use efficiency.

Read more about ICL’s RD&I projects in the ICL’s 2019 Annual Report (pp.155-157).

IMI TAMI - R&D Institute

The ICL Chemical Research Center in Israel – IMI TAMI -is a world-class research institute. Its primary goal is to expand the business of the ICL Group by improving existing chemical production processes and developing new, proprietary chemical compounds with a commercial advantage. IMI TAMI’s team includes chemists, engineers, microbiologists, and analytical and corrosion chemists. The institute also provides a broad range of services, including research and development, production, testing and a very large selection of analysis options for customers from the chemical, pharmaceutical, food and environmental quality service industries.

As a one-stop-shop facility, IMI TAMI‘s infrastructure and expertise enable the development of processes from the basic idea to the full industrial process. Tami offers its expertise in every step of the process, idea validation, lab feasibility, parametrization, Process Safety Analysis, Scale-Up, waste treatment to a full process book. The development relies upon a state of the art infrastructure containing all tools of development in house and is assisted with cutting edge customized simulation capabilities such as ASPEN PLUS, VISIMIX etc. Tami is also dealing in scaling down of processes for trouble shooting or changing and upgrading processes. IMI TAMI works under strict regulation requirements e.g.ISO 9001, ISO 14001 , ISO 45001 GLP etc. To meet customers requirements, IMI TAMI provides various solutions for raw materials recycling and waste treatment, analysis & sophisticated analytical tools to face any new challenges.

Some examples of fields in which IMI TAMI developed processes are fire retardants, fertilizers, polymers, composite materials, Nano materials, Biocides, Pharma, Cannabis, biotech, Food/Protein and many more and is working with startups as well as established large companies.