The German nobel chemistry laureate Professor Benjamin List visited Symrise in Holzminden. In the presence of Symrise CEO Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram and chemists from research and production, the Nobel Prize winner spoke about how important catalysts are as a component in the sustainable production of fragrance ingredients. Catalysts play a decisive role in reducing the energy and resources required in chemical production at Symrise sites around the globe.

Symrise is known worldwide for significant research in the industry and has profound connections to renowned universities and international research institutions. This also includes the German Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Prof. Dr. Benjamin List. In addition to chemists from the areas of research and production, CEO Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram also took part in the expert discussions. In his presentation, Professor List used chemical formulas to show how catalysts can be used to start or accelerate a chemical reaction or steer it in a specific direction.

The Nobel laureate was impressed by the expertise of Symrise’s employees and how they are using new technologies to produce chemical products in a sustainable manner. “Numerous products like menthols are manufactured using catalytic processes at Symrise. These processes play a decisive role in reducing the energy and resources required in chemical production, meaning that they make a key contribution to greater sustainability,” says Dr. Kerstin Schroeder, Head of Research for fragrance ingredients at Symrise.

Frankfurt-born Professor Benjamin List is a German chemist and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In 2021, he and the British-US chemist David MacMillan received the Nobel Prize for Chemstry in recognition of their work, independently of each other, on asymmetric organocatalysis.