Close cooperation with universities and research institutes
Innovation is one of the main strengths of Germany as a location for the chemical industry. Within Europe, Germany registers the largest number of chemical patents, on a worldwide basis, a third of all chemical patents being of German origin. An important reason for this success is the wide network of universities, advanced technical colleges and research institutions with which the German chemical parks maintain close contacts.

Investors located at German chemical parks find highly qualified partners for innovation in the numerous research institutions and universities. The many non-university institutions focusing on chemistry include, among others, 15 Max-Planck institutes, 10 Fraunhofer Gesellschaft institutes, 7 institutes run by the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, 11 Leibnitz-Gesellschaft institutes, federal and regional establishments with research and development responsibilities, plus the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher.

Universities are not only partners in research and development: they train the next generation of scientists and are an excellent source of employees for the chemical industry. Sixty universities offer chemistry degree courses, 20 offer biochemistry and 14 offer food chemistry.