Our approach to innovation
We turn good into better, and better into even better. We develop through innovation, relying not only on our external environment but also on our employees to source innovative ideas. We are convinced that innovation can significantly accelerate the chemical sector’s progress.
We turn good into better, and better into even better. We develop through innovation, relying not only on our external environment but also on our employees to source innovative ideas. We are convinced that innovation can significantly accelerate the chemical sector’s progress.
Implementation of programmes designed to stimulate innovation, including employee innovation, is a priority focus of our innovation strategy for 2021–2030.
The innovation strategy is a pivotal element of our mission and vision until 2030. We see new and improved products as a way to entrench our Group’s long-term competitive advantage. By 2030, we intend to spend 2–3% of the Group’s revenue on research, development, pilot plants, and innovation.
We have identified four priority areas:
- innovation projects,
- enhancement of the innovation system,
- support for corporate projects,
- innovation geared towards minimising the impact of various policy risks.
In 2022, we adopted two documents to define procedures for implementing employee innovations: the Intellectual Property Management Policy and the Employee Innovation Rules. These documents are intended to facilitate effective harnessing of the knowledge, ingenuity, and creativity of our staff and then implementation of their ideas into real-life settings, and to establish uniform rules for the submission, consideration, evaluation, and rewarding of such ideas.
In 2022, we successfully expanded the digital repository of our R&D projects completed since 2000, with the addition of two modules – Market Analyses and Patents & Licences – a digital collection of all licences and patents held by our four key companies.
In 2022, the Grupa Azoty Group obtained ten new patents, with further patent applications pending review by the Patent Office.
In 2022, we commenced work on the Strategic Research Agenda for the Group, aimed as a comprehensive document presenting the organisation’s research and development needs and defining its development focus. The Strategic Research Agenda is expected to help bridge the gap between the vision for the Group’s future and the status quo. It is about developing our technologies, services, products, and manufacturing processes, while improving enterprise management methodologies and the execution of support processes. In 2022, we developed the implementation concept and drew up a report entitled ‘Implementation of the Strategic Research Agenda at the Grupa Azoty Group – Concept and Approach’ to encompass our action plan and relevant methodology. The work was divided into three stages: preparation, implementation and documentation, with the start of stage one in December 2022.
For many years, the Group’s laboratories and research centres have been working on fertilizers, plastics, and other developments. We are well aware how important R&D work is for a modern chemical company, which is why we are expanding our research facilities to validate our R&D outcomes on a pilot-plant scale.
BEST PRACTICE
Infrastructure projects run by our companies
In 2022, Grupa Azoty S.A. completed the first stage of its investment in shared infrastructure for agronomic research. We also put into service a phytotron facility for product efficacy testing. Phytotron studies will revolutionise the testing methodology for fertilizers and plant growth stimulators, meeting the needs of our R&D units and the requirements of our sales force.
In 2022, Grupa Azoty Puławy continued work on the infrastructure project designated as ‘Strengthening the potential of Grupa Azoty Zakłady Azotowe Puławy S.A. in the R&D&I area’. The project involves building a research centre and equipping it with comprehensive infrastructure necessary for carrying out industrial research and development work within the company’s two strategic business areas: fertilizers and biotechnology. Grupa Azoty Polyolefins took a similar initiative, providing the necessary resources to meet key customer requirements for its products. To upgrade the laboratory, ten equipment items meeting ISO standards were purchased.
BEST PRACTICE
Research and Development Centre in Kędzierzyn-Koźle
The Research and Development Centre of Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn was officially launched in 2022. The PLN 39 million project will allow the company to expand the scale and scope of its current research, especially in the Oxoplast™ segment, helping it extend the product chain and process base chemicals into speciality products. The R&D Centre houses ten research laboratories over an area in excess of 1,900 square metres.
We are aware of the changes lying ahead. Our priorities for research and development will be defined in the Strategic Research Agenda. The projects currently under way include the development of speciality ammonium nitrate-sulfate fertilizer products with functional additives, mineral and organic fertilizer compositions based on dolomite powder, biodegradable materials for coating granulated fertilizers, and a fertilizer composition based on sawdust and ammonium sulfate in the form of pellets, using thermoplastic starch binder. We will continue our research and development into new generation nitrification inhibitors and investigate the effect of the addition of nitrification and urease inhibitors to the Group’s fertilizers on crop yields, soil properties, and emissions of nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere. We also intend to step up our precision farming activities in line with the European Commission’s main goal for the agro sector, which is to improve fertilization efficiency.
We collaborate with several dozen leading universities and member institutes of the Łukasiewicz Research Network. We jointly implement both commercial projects and projects partly financed with European funds obtained via the National Centre for Research and Development under the Smart Growth Operational Programme.
In 2022, we ran another edition of the Grupa Azoty Brand Ambassador programme for undergraduates and doctoral students. In the academic year 2021/2022, six ambassadors designated by the Group’s largest companies assisted in our promotional and informational efforts targeting the academic community. Their tasks included meetings with students of secondary technical schools, raising awareness of cooperative links between business and science, and helping participants realize how they can steer their career development paths together with Grupa Azoty Group companies. The ambassadors took part in job fairs for the academic community, informing students of the available internship and traineeship opportunities. They were also engaged in promoting Idea4Azoty, the Grupa Azoty Group’s acceleration programme, through social media activity, communication efforts, competitions and quizzes.
As part of our engagement with universities, we were involved in the implementation doctorates project. Employees of the Group companies have been able to combine doctoral studies with professional work since the project’s inception in 2017. Doctoral programmes are conducted in partnership with the Silesian University of Technology, West Pomeranian University of Technology and University of Szczecin. In 2022, five persons were awarded doctoral degrees: one from Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn and four from Grupa Azoty Police.
BEST PRACTICE
Scientific partnerships of our companies
In 2022, Grupa Azoty S.A. signed a cooperation agreement with the State Higher Vocational School in Nysa to carry on joint research and development into fertilizers and energy efficiency. The school’s students will be able to benefit from expert support in writing their bachelor’s, engineer’s and master’s theses on themes relevant to the company’s business profile. The cooperation will also cover aspects related to the circular economy.
Grupa Azoty Police signed an agreement with the Ignacy Łukasiewicz School Complex in Police whereby the company is to provide apprenticeships for future chemical engineering technicians and industry training for teachers. Grupa Azoty Police has collaborated with the school since 2014, when an agreement was signed to establish a class for chemical engineering technicians. In 2018, the company established a similar partnership with School Complex No. 2 in Szczecin, as a result of which two classes were founded for future laboratory technicians and chemical engineering technicians.
In 2022, Grupa Azoty Police signed a cooperation agreement with the Academy of Applied Sciences of the University of the Common Knowledge Society in Szczecin. The partners agreed on relevant arrangements to provide internship and apprenticeship opportunities for students and graduates and to enable the conduct of research work by undergraduates and doctoral students.
Grupa Azoty Police will also offer internship openings for students of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin. The company signed an agreement with the university authorities to implement joint research and scientific projects and to promote advanced technology solutions created by students in papers and dissertations.
With a view to accelerating the roll-out of advanced solutions, we cooperate with innovative players capable of making improvements within certain areas of our business. To make it easier for start-up companies to approach Grupa Azoty, an industry giant, we run Idea4Azoty, our own acceleration programme. A single application round attracted as many as 48 applicants interested in sharing with us their development project ideas. The Group additionally participates in external acceleration schemes, such as the one funded by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). In 2022, Grupa Azoty Puławy continued its involvement in the Eastern Business Accelerator platform operated by the Puławy Science and Technology Park, and in the Connect Poland Prize platform operated by the Lublin Science and Technology Park.
In 2022, Grupa Azoty S.A. was a partner in the KPT ScaleUp and KPT Poland Prize acceleration programmes, as part of which it was able to review several hundred proposed solutions. In 2022 alone, it carried out six pilot projects to test dedicated Industry 4.0. digital solutions.
EIC Procurers Days with Grupa Azoty, an event organised for our Group by the European Innovation Council, were held in October 2022. During the two-day event, our representatives met with European companies offering innovative solutions that could be potentially implemented by the Grupa Azoty Group.
